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DOCUMENTS 
DEPT. 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF 


OOOUMENTb 


OUTLINE 

of 

v 

Executive  and  Legislative 
History 

of 

[ARKANSAS 


Special  Edition  Printed  for  Distribution 

BY 

THE  ARKANSAS  HISTORY  COMMISSION 


CALVERT-McBRiDE  PRINTING  CO..  FT.  SMITH,  ARK. 


OUTLINE 


OF 


EXECUTIVE  AND  LEGISLATIVE 
HISTORY 


OF 


ARKANSAS 


BY 

DALLAS  T.  HERNDON 


Special  Edition  Printed  for  Distribution 
BY 

THE  ARKANSAS  HISTORY  COMMISSION 


DOCUMENTS 


m 

DOCUMENTS 
DEPT. 


Copyright,  1922 

By 
DALLAS  T.  HERNDON 


GEORGE  BULLIT 

JUDGE,  1814-1819 

Congress,  in  an  Act  approved  by  President  James  Madison, 
January  27,  1814,  made  special  and  exceptional  provision  for 
the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  civil  government  in  what 
is  now  the  State  of  Arkansas.  This  Act  of  1814  provided  for 
the  appointment  of  "an  additional''  judge  for  the  Territory  of 
Missouri,  who,  as  the  chief  judicial  and  administrative  officer 
in  and  for  that  part  of  Missouri  "within  the  limits  of  the  late 
district  of  Arkansas,  as  fixed  and  established  while  the  same  was 
a  part  of  the  territory  of  Louisiana,"  was  required  by  law  to 
reside  "at  or  near  the  village  of  Arkansas."  George  Bullit,  whom 
the  President  appointed  to  the  office  thus  created,  was  a  lawyer 
of  Ste.  Genevieve  county,  Missouri.  Elected  November  9,  1812, 
a  member  of  the  first  house  of  representatives  of  Missouri,  he 
had  been  chosen  speaker  at  the  second  session  of  the  first  Gen- 
eral Assembly  in  December,  1813.  He  removed,  soon  after  his 
appointment  as  judge  of  the  district  of  Arkansas,  with  his  family 
to  Arkansas  Post.  There  he  continued  in  office  until  1819,  when 
the  Territory  of  Arkansas  was  created.  By  an  Act  approved 
December  13,  1813,  the  first  General  Assembly  of  Missouri  had 
created  the  county  of  Arkansas,  out  of  what  had  been,  since  1806, 
the  district  of  Arkansas.  Subsequently,  the  legislature  of  Mis- 
souri divided  Arkansas  county,  forming  the  county  of  Lawrence 
January  15,  1815;  and  the  counties  of  Clark,  Hempstead  and 
Pulaski  by  a  single  Act  approved  December  15,  1818.  During 
the  five  years  of  his  judicial  services,  Judge  Bullit  held  court  reg- 
ularly, "two  terms  in  each  and  every  year,"  in  and  for  the  dis- 
trict embraced  by  the  five  counties  of  Arkansas,  Lawrence,  Clark, 
Hempstead  and  Pulaski,  arid  otherwise  effectually  organized 
affairs  of  civil  government  in  each.  Thus,  when  in  1819  the 
Territory  of  Arkansas  was  established,  as  a  result  of  the  work 
of  Judge  Bullit,  Arkansas  began  its  separate  political  existence 
with  all  the  necessary  machinery  of  local  government  already  in 
operation. 


OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 


ROBERT  CRITTENDEN 

ACTING  GOVERNOR,  JULY  4 — DECEMBER  26,  1819 

President  James  Monroe,  on  March  3,  1819,  the  day  after 
he  had  approved  the  Act  creating  the  Territory,  appointed  Gen- 
eral James  Miller,  of  New  Hampshire,  governor  of  Arkansas. 
On  the  same  day,  he  appointed  also  Robert  Crittenden,  of  Ken- 
tucky, secretary  of  the  new  Territory.  Not  many  days  later  the 
President  appointed  as  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  Charles 
Jouett,  of  Michigan,  Robert  P.  Letcher,  of  Kentucky,  and 
Andrew  Scott,  of  Missouri.  Judge  Scott,  whose  home  was  at 
Potosi,  Missouri,  was  the  first  of  the  territorial  officials  to  arrive 
at  Arkansas  Post.  Crittenden  and  Letcher  arrived  in  the  latter 
part  of  June.  The  fourth  of  July,  1819,  was  the  day  named  by 
Congress  in  the  organic  Act  for  the  said  Act  to  take  effect.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  Independence  Day,  the  territorial  government  was 
put  in  operation  by  Robert  Crittenden,  who,  according  to  law, 
became  the  acting  governor  in  the  absence  of  Governor  Miller. 

Born  January  1,  1797,  Crittenden  was  only  twenty-two  and 
a  half  years  of  age  when  he  assumed  the  duties  of  the  governor- 
ship of  Arkansas.  He  was  a  native  of  Woodford  county,  Ken- 
tucky ;  was  the  son  of  John  Crittenden,  a  Kentucky  pioneer  from 
Virginia,  who  had  been  a  major  in  the  Continental  Army  of  the 
American  Revolution.  Robert  was  a  younger  brother  of  John  J. 
Crittenden,  who  became  a  distinguished  national  figure.  In  1814 
Robert  had  entered  the  army  as  an  ensign ;  served  until  June, 
1815,  when  he  was  discharged  with  rank  of  lieutenant.  He  then 
began  the  study  of  law.  In  1817-1818  he  served  under  General 
Andrew  Jackson  as  captain  of  a  company  of  Kentucky  volun- 
teers in  the  Seminole  war.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1818, 
shortly  after  he  became  of  age.  He  held  the  office  of  territorial 
secretary  in  Arkansas  nearly  ten  years,  until  the  spring  of  1829. 
During  those  years  he  was  acting  governor  on  numerous  occa- 
sions, sometimes  for  periods  of  several  months  at  a  time,  o\\  ing 
to  the  absence  from  the  Territory  first  of  Governor  Miller  and 
afterwards  of  Governor  George  Izard.  Crittenden  was  married 
October  1,  1822.  to  Ann  Innes  Morris,  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky. 
After  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  territorial  secretary,  he 
contined  to  reside  at  Little  Rock,  where  he  became  the  leader  of 
a  political  faction  which  later  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  \\1ug 
party  in  Arkansas.  In  1833  he  was  defeated  by  Ambrose  TT 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY 


Sevier  almost  two  to  one  as  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  terri- 
torial delegate  to  Congress.  He  died  December  18,  1834,  at 
Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  whither  he  had  gone  to  attend  to  some 
legal  matter  in  connection  with  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

Upon  assuming  the  duties  of  the  governor's  office  in  July, 
1819,  Crittenden  issued  a  proclamation  calling  a  session  of  the 
territorial  legislature  at  Arkansas  Post  for  July  28,  1819.  The 
only  other  act  of  any  real  importance  performed  by  him  during 
the  nearly  six  months  that  he  was  acting  governor,  before  Gov- 
ernor Miller  arrived,  was  the  calling  of  a  general  election  for 
November  20.  1819.  At  this  first  election  five  members  of  a 
legislative  council — one  from  each  of  the  five  organized  counties 
— and  nine  members  of  a  house  of  representatives  were  elected, 
besides  a  territorial  delegate  to  Congress.  In  authorizing  the 
selection  by  popular  vote  of  the  members  of  a  legislative  council, 
Crittenden  overreached  his  authority.  The  law  which  prescribed 
the  mode  of  government  for  the  Territory,  as  then  constituted, 
plainly  provided  that  the  people  should  elect  by  popular  choice  a 
house  of  representatives ;  the  members  of  this  house  should  then 
meet,  at  such  time  as  the  governor  should  appoint,  select  the 
names  of  eighteen  persons  whom  they  deemed  qualified  for  the 
office  of  councilmen  and  forward  the  whole  list  of  those  so 
nominated  to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Upon  receiv- 
ing such  a  list  of  nominations,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  President 
to  appoint  nine  of  the  same  to  be  members  of  the  council. 
Whether  Crittendeirs  error  was  due  to  ignorance  or  imprudence 
is  uncertain.  Rut,  at  all  events,  owing  to  the  good  sense  and 
prudent  statesmanship  of  Governor  Miller,  Congress  was  in- 
duced to  pass  a  special  Act,  which  the  President  approved  April 
21,  1820,  making  the  election  of  the  councilmen,  in  the  manner 
authorized  by  Crittenden,  legal  after  the  fact — in  April  after  the 
election  in  November.  Thus  Arkansas  was  raised  from  a  Ter- 
ritory of  the  first  grade — one  with  a  legislative  council  whose 
members  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  President — to  a  Territory 
of  the  second  grade,  in  which  members  of  both  branches  of  the 
territorial  legislature  were  elected  by  the  people  themselves. 

First  Legislature— 

The  first  legislature,  unlike  any  of  the  legislatures  of  Arkan- 
sas since,  was  composed  of  the  governor  and  the  three  judges 


8  OUTI. INK  <)]••  EXECUTIVE: 

of  the  Superior  Court.  It  held  but  one  short  session,  from  July 
28  until  August  3,  1819,  and  sat  at  Arkansas  Post,  then  the  tem- 
porary seat  of  the  territorial  government.  Robert  Crittenden, 
acting  governor  in  the  absence  of  Governor  Miller,  Charles 
Jouett,  Robert  Letcher  and  Andrew  Scott,  the  latter  as  judges 
of  the  Superior  Court,  were  the  four  members.  Of  the  several 
Acts  passed  by  them  in  the  capacity  of  a  lawmaking  body,  the 
following  were  the  most  important:  (1)  An  Act  declaring  in 
force  "all  the  laws  and  parts  -of  laws  now  in  existence  in  the 
Territory  of  Missouri,  which  are  of  a  general  and  not  of  a  local 
nature",  etc.;  (2)  An  Act  dividing  the  Teritory  into  two  judi- 
cial circuits  and  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  circuit  judge 
of  each;  (3)  An  Act  creating  the  offices  of  territorial  auditor 
and  territorial  treasurer;  (4)  An  Act  making  appropriations  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  territorial  government. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    II I  STORY  i9 

JAMES  MILLER 

GOVERNOR,  MARCH  3,  1819— DECEMBER  1   (?),  1824 

Appointed  governor  of  Arkansas  March  3,  1819,  General 
James  Miller  did  not  assume  the  duties  of  chief  executive  of  the 
new  Territory  until  December  26,  following ;  which  was  Sun- 
day, and  the  day  of  his  arrival  at  Arkansas  Post.  Appointed 
for  a  term  of  three  years  and  reappointed  to  a  second  term  in 
March,  1822,  he  served  out  all  but  a  few  months  of  the  latter, 
resigning  late  in-  the  year  1824. 

Miller  has  sometimes  received  but  scant  and  gruding  credit 
for  the  highly  meritorious  public  services  which  he  performed 
as  governor  of  Arkansas.  The  explanation  is  to  be  found,  in 
part,  no  doubt,  in  the  exaggerated  notion  which  tradition  has 
created  of  the  statesmanship  of  Robert  Crittenden.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  Grittenden — and  such  a  statement  of  the  case  against 
him  is  putting  the  best  face  possible  upon  the  unimpeachable 
record  of  his  public  career — seems  to  have  possessed  the  unhappy 
faculty  of  mismanaging  nearly  everything  that  he  touched,  when 
acting  upon  his  own  initiative.  His  conduct  of  affairs  on  sundry 
occasions  was  a  source  of  embarrassment  to  both  Governor  Miller 
and  Governor  Izard,  not  to  mention  the  bitterness  and  vulgar 
personalities  of  the  politics  of  Arkansas  of  his  time,  of  which 
he,  oftener  than  not,  was  the  chief  and  the  wilful  author. 

James  Miller  was  born  at  Peterborough,  New  Hampshire, 
April  25,  1776.  He  chose  the  army  for  his  profession,  entering 
before  he  was  of  age.  In  1808  he  was  commissioned  major  of 
the  Fourth  Infantry  of  the  regular  army.  Soon  after  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  War  of  1812  he  was  promoted  to  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  Twenty-first  Connecticut  Volunteers.  His  regiment 
formed  part  of  the  command  of  General  Ripley,  former  colonel 
of  the  regiment.  At  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane  on  July  25,  1814, 
a  British  battery  occupied  an  eminence  and  its  fire  was  causing 
serious  havoc  in  the  American  ranks.  Pointing  to  the  battery, 
General  Ripley  asked  Colonel  Miller  if  he  could  silence  the  guns. 
Miller  saluted  and  quietly  responded:  "I'll  try,  sir."  Communi- 
cating the  order  to  his  subordinate  officers,  Colonel  Miller  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  which  advanced  steadily  up 
the  slope  until  close  to  the  battery,  when  the  order  to  charge 
was  given.  With  a  cheer,  the  men  of  the  Twenty-first  rushed 


10  OUTLINE.  OF    EXECUTIVE 

forward  with  fixed  bayonets  and  before  the,  astounded  Britons 
could  regain  control  of  their  senses  their  guns  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  victorious  Americans.  Miller's  words,  "I'll  try,  sir,"  be- 
came historic  and  were  printed  on  the  badges  worn  by  the  regi- 
ment. On  November  3,  1814,  Congress  voted  him  a  gold  medal 
and  the  war  department  promoted  him  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  for  distinguished  services  at  Lundy's  Lane  and  upon 
sundry  other  occasions.  President  James  Monroe  appointed  him 
collector  of  the  port  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  the  fall  of  1824, 
which  position  he  resigned  the  governorship  of  Arkansas  to 
accept.  When  Andrew  Jackson  became  President  of  the  United 
States  in  1829,  an  effort  was  made  to  have  Miller  removed. 
Thomas  H.  Benton  explained  to  Jackson  that  Miller  was  the  hero 
of  Lundy's  Lane,  whereupon  Jackson  turned  to  his  secretary  and 
said :  ''Colonel  Donelson,  write  to  General  Miller  that  he  shall 
remain  collector  of  the  port  of  Salem  as  long  as  Andrew  Jackson 
is  President."  General  Miller  died  at  Temple,  New  Hampshire, 
July  7,  1851,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

As  already  pointed  out,  Governor  Miller  did  not  arrive  in 
Arkansas  and  take  up  the  duties  of  his  office  until  nearly  six 
months  after  the  organic  Act,  the  Act  by  which  the  new  Ter- 
ritory was  created,  had  become  effective.  But  on  Dece  nber  25, 
1819,  the  Arkansas  Gazette  announced:  "A  report  is  in  circu- 
lation here  that  Governor  Miller  passed  the  mouth  of  the  White 
River,  a  few  days  ago,  in  a  keelboat.  If  this  report  be  true,  he 
is  probably  now  in  the  Arkansas  and  will  be  up  in  a  day  or  two." 
The  "keelboat"  thus  mentioned  was  the  barge  "Arkansaw,"  winch 
had  been  fitted  up  at  Pittsburgh  by  the  United  States  for  the 
Governor's  voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  and 
up  the  Arkansas  to  Arkansas  Post.  Though  the  Gazette  made 
no  mention  of  the  matter,  manifestly  there  were  some  who  were 
disposed  to  censure  Miller  for  the  tardiness  of  his  arrival.  In- 
deed there  is  still  a  tradition  to  the  effect  that  he  preferred  the 
receptions  given  him  by  the  people  along  the  route  of  his  journey 
to  the  exactions  of  his  various  executive  duties.  That  his  fame 
as  the  hero  of  Lundy's  Lane  had  preceded  him  and  that  at  each 
of  the  principal  towns  and  cities — Wheeling,  Cincinnati,  Louis- 
ville,-and  others — he  was  given  a  cordial  welcome,  there  can  be 
no  doubt.  In  those  places  there  were  veterans  of  the  War  of 
1812,  who  wanted  to  grasp  the  hand  of  the  man  who  had -so 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  11 

effectually  silenced  an  enemy's  guns.  General  Miller's  reply  of 
"I'll  try,  sir,"  to  his  commander,  became  universally  popular.  If 
a  man  asked  a  comrade  to  take  a  drink  in  honor  of  General 
Miller,  the  answer  came  back  promptly,  "I'll  try,  sir,"  and  on 
such  occasions  the  trial  was  always  crowned  with  as  much  suc- 
cess as  General  Miller's  charge  on  the  British  battery.  But  there 
were  far  more  serious  and  important  reasons  for  his  delay.  For 
one  thing,  his  commission  as  governor  was  sent  by  mistake  to 
Arkansas  Post,  instead  of  to  New  Hampshire.  The  error  was 
not  corrected  until  May  29,  1819,  only  a  little  more  than  a  month 
before  the  territorial  government  was  to  go  into  operation.  Some 
time  was  necessary  for  him  to  resign  his  commission  in  the  army, 
settle  up  his  affairs  and  make  provision  for  his  family  during  his 
absence.  Again,  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  Washington, 
where  he  was  detained  for  several  days  in  obtaining  an  order  on 
the  ordnance  officer  at  Pittsburgh  for  the  arms  and  ammunition 
for  the  militia  of  the  territory.  At  Pittsburgh  he  was  compelled 
to  wait  for  more  than  a  week  before  his  barge  was  equipped  for 
the  voyage. 

On  Sunday,  December  26,  1819,  when  the  news*  had  spread 
that  the  Governor's  barge  was  coming  up  the  river,  the  citizens 
abandoned  their  domestic  chores  and  church  services  to  gather 
at  the  landing.  It  was  a  red-letter  day  in  the  annals  of  Arkansas 
Post.  As  the  barge  approached  it  was  noticed  that  the  name 
"Arkansaw"  was  emblazoned  on  each  side  of  the  cabin  in  gilt 
letters.  From  the  staff  at  the  prow  floated  the  national  ensign. 
On  one  of  the  white  stripes  was  the  name  "Arkansaw,"  and  below 
it  was  the  now  famous  motto — "I'll  try,  sir."  Gathered  in  the 
sumptuously  furnished  cabin  was  Governor  Miller,  with  his 
suite,  waiting  to  disembark.  The  long,  tedious  voyage  was 
ended.  The  Gazette,  in  its  issue  of  January  1,  1821,  said: 

"The  gentlemen  who  compose  the  Governor's  suite,  to  the 
number  of  twenty,  are  from  different  parts  of  the  Union,  and 
intend  to  make  permanent  settlements  in  this  territory.  While 
we  notice  with  pleasure  so  great  an  acquisition  to  our  society, 
we  cannot  forbear  to  mention,  for  the  gratification  of  our  female 
friends,  the  arrival  of  one  lady  in  the  company,  the  wife  of  Cap- 
tain Spencer,  late  of  the  United  States  Army.  We  cordially 
greet  them  all — Bid  them  welcome  to  our  land — and  sincerely 


12  OUTLINE    OF  .EXECUTIVE 


hope  that  they  may  meet  with  all  the  encouragement  their  spirit 
and  enterprise  so  richly  deserve.''' 

First  General  Assembly— 

At  the  election  on  November  20,  1819,  as  ordered  by  Robert 
Crittenden,  the  voters  elected  five  members  of  a  legislative  council 
— one  from  each  organized  county — and  nine  members  of  a 
house  of  representatives.  The  councilman  elected  were: 
Arkansas  county,  Sylvanus  Phillips;  Clark,  Jacob  Barkman ; 
Hempstead,  David  Clark ;  Lawrence,  Edward  McDonald ; 
Pulaski,  John  McElmurry.  The  several  countie,s  were  repre- 
sented in  the  house  as  follows :  Arkansas,  William  O.  Allen  and 
William  B.  R.  Horner;  Clark,  Thomas  Fish;  Hempstead,  John 
English  and  William  Stevenson ;  Lawrence,  Joab  Hardin  and 
Joseph  Hardin,  Sr. ;  Pulaski,  Radford  Ellis  and  Thomas  H. 
Tindall.  On  December  29,  1819,  Governor  Miller  issued  his 
proclamation  calling  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly 
for  the  first  Monday  in  February,  1820,  to  meet  at  Arkansas 
Post.  Accordingly,  the  first  legislature  elected  by  the  people  con- 
vened February  7,  1820.  The  council  organized  by  electing 
Edward  McDonald  president,  and  Richard  Chamberlain  clerk. 
William  Stevenson  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house  and  Jason 
Chamberlain,  clerk.  Stevenson  resigned  the  day  after  his  elec- 
tion and  Joseph  Hardin  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  The 
two  houses  continued  in  session  until  February  24,  when  they 
adjourned  to  meet  again  on  the  first  Monday  in  October,  whiclr 
was  October  2.  This  adjourned  session  lasted  until  October 
25,  1820. 

In  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  session  in  February, 
Governor  Miller,  in  a  well  tempered  manner,  pointed  out  the 
error  committed  in  the  election  of  members  of  the  legislative 
council  by  popular  choice.  As  a  remedy,  he  urged  both  houses 
to  join  in  the  adoption  of  a  memorial  to  Congress  respectfully 
requesting  the  passage  of  an  Act  making  the  election  lawful. 
Despite  Crittenden's  determined  and  presumptious  opposition,  in 
which  a  majority  of  the  members  of  the  General  Assembly  were 
at  first  disposed  to  support  him,  Miller  prevailed  upon  the  mem- 
bers to  follow  his  advice.  At  the  session  in  October  he  began 
his  message  by  saying:  "I  have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you 
that  the  difficulties  which  embarrassed  the  legislature  at  the 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  13 

commencement  of  this  session,  in  February  last,  produced 'by  the 
doubts  which  arose  as  to  the  legality  of  the  election  of  the  legis- 
lative council,  have  been  removed  by  the  passage  of  a  law  of 
Congress  sanctioning  and  legalizing  the  organization  of  the  Ter- 
ritory in  the  second  grade  of  government/'  If  Miller  had  done 
nothing  else,  the  happy  settlement  which  he  caused  to  be  made 
of  this  matter  had  proven  his  wisdom  and  worth.  Besides  the 
adoption  of  the  memorial  proposed  by  Go^v€!rnor  Miller,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  at  its  session  in  February,  did  but  little  that  is 
significant.  At  the  adjourned  session  in  October,  the  most 
notable  Act  passed  was  that  removing  the  seat  of  government 
to  Little  Rock,  the  Act  to  take  effect  June  1,  1821. 

Second  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  second  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
6,  1821.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were:  Arkan- 
sas county,  Neil  McLane ;  Clark,  Sam  C.  Roane ;  Crawford, 
Tames  Billingsley;  Hempstead,  Robert  Andrews;  Independence, 
Peyton  Tucker;  Lawrence,  William  Jones;  Miller,  Claiborne 
Wright;  Phillips,  Daniel  Mooney;  Pulaski,  Benjamin  Murphy. 
The  members  of  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  William 
Trimble;  Clark,  Thomas  Fish;  Crawford  and  Pulaski,  Ed'iumd 
Hogan ;  Hempstead,  John  Wilson;  Independence,  Robert  Bean; 
Lawrence,  John  Hines  and  Jesse  James ;  Miller,  Stephen  R.  Wil- 
son; Phillips,  W'illiam  B.  R.  Llorner.  They  met  in  regular  ses- 
sion October  1,  1821,  at  Little  Rock.  Sam  C.  Roane  was  elected 
president  of  the  legislative  council ;  Richard  Searcy,  secretary. 
William  Trimble  was  elected  speaker  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives ;  Ambrose  H.  Sevier,  clerk.  The  laws  passed  were, 
for  the  most  part,  measures  of  local  character.  The  most  im- 
portant Act  of  the  session,  perhaps,  was  that  changing  the  man- 
ner of  voting  at  general  elections  from  ballot  to  Viva  voce.  On 
account  of  the  absences  of  Governor  Miller,  who  had  gone  to 
New  Hampshire  on  business,  Robert  Crittenden  was  acting  gov- 
ernor during  the  session,  which  adjourned  October  24,  1821. 

The  meetings  were  held  in  a  house  erected  "for  the  reception" 
of  the  General  Asembly  by  those  who  claimed  possession  of  the 
land  upon  which  the  site  of  the  town  was  then  laid  off,  the  "pro- 
prietors" having  agreed  to  furnish  such  a  house  as  an  inducement 
to  secure  the  location  of  the  seat  of  government  at  Little  Rock. 


14  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

The  house,  a  cheap  frame  building  of  one  story  and  two  rooms, 
was  situated  on  the  block  of  ground  bounded  by  Main  and  Scott 
streets  and  what  are  now  Fifth  and  Sixth  streets. 

Third  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  third  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
4,  1823.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were :  Arkansas 
county,  Andrew  Latting;  Clark,  Samuel  C.  Roane;  Crawford, 
John  McLean ;  Hempstead,  Matthew  Scobey ;  Independence, 
Townsend  Dickinson ;  Lawrence,  William  Humphreys ;  Miller, 
Elijah  Carter;  Phillips,  Daniel  Mooney;  Pulaski,  Thomas 
Matthews.  The  members  of  the  house  of  representatives  were: 
Arkansas  county,  Terence  Farrelly ;  Clark,  Henry  L.  Biscoe ; 
Crawford,  John  Nicks ;  Hempstead,  John  Wilson ;  Independence, 
Robert  Bean ;  Lawrence,  Thomas  Culp ;  Miller,  Joshua  Ewing ; 
Phillips,  William  B.  R.  Horner;  Pulaski,  Ambrose  H.  Sevier. 
They  met  in  regular  session  October  6,  1823.  Sam  C.  Roane  was 
elected  president  of  the  legislative  council ;  Thomas  W.  Newton, 
secretary;  Terence  Farrelly  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives ;  David  E.  McKinney,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until 
October  31,  1823. 

A  memorial  to  congress  was  adopted  asking  for  an  appropria- 
tion for  a  road  from  Memphis  to  Little  Rock.  Accordingly,  Con- 
gress made  its  first  appropriation  for  that  purpose  in  1824.  The 
road  thus  begun  was  part  of  the  system  of  military  roads,  which 
the  United  States  eventually  opened  from  Memphis  to  Fort  Gib- 
son and  from  the  Missouri  Line  to  Red  river.  (See  High  Lights.) 
Not  less  important  was  the  memorial  protesting  against  the 
western  boundary  of  Arkansas  as  proposed  by  the  Choctaw  treaty 
of  1820,  which  protest  was  effective  in  securing,  in  1825,  a  new 
treaty  and  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  the  boundary  question 
from  the  Arkansas  river  south  to  Red  river.  (See  High  Lights.) 
In  still  another  memorial  the  General  Assembly  prayed  Congress 
for  the  establishment  of  certain  military  posts  in  the  Indian 
country,  as  a  protection  to  settlers  against  the  Indians. 

Fear  of  attack  by  hostile  Indians  was  then  a  really  serious  and 
disturbing  matter.  Though  the  United  States  Government  had 
already  established  Fort  Towson  in  the  southwest  and  Fort  Smith 
and  Fort  Gibson  on  the  Arkansas  river,  the  protection  they 
afforded  was  deemed  insufficient.  Governor  Miller  was  no  doubt 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  15 

in  full  sympathy  with,  if  he  did  not  actually  advise,  the  adop- 
tion of  such  a  memorial.  For  he  had  been  at  no  little  pains 
throughout  his  administration  to  perfect  an  organization  of  the 
territorial  militia;  had  held  many  councils  with  the  chiefs  of  the 
Cherokees,  Choctaws  and  other  tribes  in.  order  to  keep  them  paci- 
fied. It  is  likely  enough  that  serious  trouble  with  Indians,  of 
which  there  was  none  of  any  great  consequence,  was  only  pre- 
vented by  Miller's  wisdom  in  treating  with  them,  while  he  was 
preparing,  as  well,  the  militia  for  war  in  case  it  came  to  that. 


16  O.UTLIXE    OF   EXECUTIVE 

GEORGE  IZARD 

GOVERNOR,  MARCH  4,  1825— NOVEMBER  22,  1828 

As  one  of  the  very  last  acts  of  his  administration,  President 
James  Monroe  appointed  General  George  Izard,  on  March  4, 
1825,  governor  of  Arkansas.  After  Governor  Miller's  resigna- 
tion in  the  latter  part  of  1824,  and  until  Governor  Izard  arrived 
in  May,  1825,  Robert  Crittenden  was  acting  governor. 

George  Izard,  second  governor  of  Arkansas  Territory,  was 
born  October  21,  1776,  at  Richmond,  in  England,  where  his 
parents  were  then  residing  temporarily.  The  Izards,  from  whom 
he  was  descended,  were  of  the  first  who  settled  in  South  Caro- 
lina. George  was  the  son  of  Ralph,  who  was  born  near  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  in  1742;  was  educated  in  England,  at  Cam- 
bridge; was  in  London  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revoultionary 
War,  whience  he  removed  to  France  and  was  presently  ap- 
pointed commission  to  Tuscany  by  the  Continental  Congress. 
His  many  important  services  during  the  Revolution  were  duly 
esteemed  by  South  Carolina,  as  shown  by  his  election  to  the 
United  States  Senate  in  1789.  He  founded  the  College  of  Charles- 
ton. While  Ralph  Izard  was  in  the  Senate,  and  during  the  time 
that  Congress  sat  in  Philadelphia,  he  entered  his  son  George  in 
what  is  now  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  there  that 
the  latter  graduated  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 

Shortly  after  his  graduation  he  was  sent  to  London,  in  care 
of  Thomas  Pinckney,  then  minister  to  England,  to  attend  the 
military  schools  of  Europe.  He  first  entered  the  Prince  of  Wales' 
Royal  Military  Academy  at  Kensington,  but  remained  there  only 
a  short  time.  In  September,  1792,  he  became  a  student  in  a 
military  school  at  Marburg,  Germany.  His  next  school  was  the 
"Ecole  du  Genie."  an  institution  for  teaching  the  art  of  military 
engineering,  located  at  Metz.  While  here  he  received  a  com- 
mission as  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  artillery  and  engineers, 
and  in  1797  returned  to  America.  The  secretary  of  war  placed 
him  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  Castle  Pinckney,  in  Charles- 
ton Harbor,  as  engineer.  In  1799  he  was  promoted  to  captain 
and  in  1802  was  placed  in  command  of  the  post  at  West  Point. 
In  April,  1803,  he  resigned  his  commission  and  retired  to  private 
life. 

Early  in    1812,  when   war   with   England  became   imminent, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  17 

George  Izard  was  commissioned  colonel  and  placed  in  command 
of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Artillery.  The  following  year  he  was 
commissioned  brigadier-general  and  in  1814  was  promoted  to 
major-general.  Educated  in  foreign  military  schools,  his 
"advanced  ideas''  did  not  meet  with  the  approbation  of  some  of 
the  American  generals  and  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1814  he 
retired  from  the;  army.  He  then  lived  quietly  with  his  family  in 
Philadelphia  until  appointed  governor  of  Arkansas  Territory. 
In  1816  he  published  his  official  correspondence  with  the  war 
department  as  a  vindication  of  his  management  of  the  campaign 
on  the  Canadian  frontier  in  1814. 

On  March  4,  1828,  his  three-year  term  having  expired,  Gov- 
ernor Izard  was  reappointed  by  President  John  Quincy  Adams, 
but  he  did  not  live  to  complete  his  second  term.  His  death 
occurred  on  Saturday,  November  22,  1828,  after  an  illness  of 
about  a  month,  following  an  attack  of  gout.  He  was  buried-  the, 
following  Sunday,  with  the  honors  of  war,  in  the  old  cemetery, 
where  the  Peabody  public  school  was  afterward  built.  When 
Mount  Holly  cemetery  was  established,  in  1843,  his  remains  were 
removed  there  and  interred  in  the  Ashley  burial  inclosure.  An 
unpretentious  marble  slab,  the  inscription  dimmed  by  time,  marks 
his  last  resting  place. 

Governor  Izard  had  a  hobby  for  collecting  razors.  .It  is  said 
that  he  would  never  accept  any  present  from  a  friend  except  a 
razor.  He  brought  with  him  to  Little  Rock  seven  razors — one 
for  each  day  in  the  week — and  would  never  shave  with  any 
except  the  one  allotted  to  that  particular  day.  A  little  while 
after  his  death  two  of  his  sons  came  to  Arkansas  to  look  after 
his  property.  The  books  composing  his  fine  private  library  were 
boxed  up  for  shipment  and  were  lost  in  transit  by  the  sinking 
of  the  steamer. 

Governor  Izard,  like  his  predecessor,  Governor  Miller,  found 
the  affairs  of  the  Territory,  upon  his  arrival  at  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment, sadly  out  of  joint,  owing  to  the  mismanagement  of 
Robert  Crittenden,  who  had  been  acting  governor  since  the  resig- 
nation of  Governor  Miller.  In  a  letter  to  the  secretary  of  war, 
which  he  wrote  soon  after  his  arrival  at  Little  Rock,  he  said: 
"The  protracted  absence  of  the  secretary  of  this  Territory  leaves 
me  in  the  dark  respecting  the  measures  adopted  by  him  before 


18  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

my  arrival."  He  found,  he  said,  "bills  on  New  Orleans,  payable 
to  the  order  of  R.  Crittenden,  Esq.,  Acting  Governor,  for  $10,500, 
which  of  course  cannot  be  negotiated.  These  funds  are,  I  pre- 
sume, intended  to  meet  the  annuities  and  other  payments  which 
are,  or  soon  will  be,  due  the  Indian  tribes."  Again,  he  com- 
plained that  the  sum  of  $3,000  in  specie,  intended  for  the  Chero- 
kees,  was  "lodged  at  Mr.  William  Montgomery's  at  the  mouth 
of  White  river,"  where  it  had  been  "for  several  months."  The 
slipshod  methods  of  Crittenden  generally,  in  the  management  of 
affairs,  were,  to  a  man  of  Izard's  military  training,  the  occasion 
of  much  annoyance. 

Like  Governor  Miller,  Izard  recognized  the  possibilities  of 
serious  trouble  with  the  Indians.  Accordingly,  he  "applied  him- 
self to  the  task  of  further  perfecting  the  organization  of  the  ter- 
ritorial militia  and  recommended  that  the  United  States  establish 
an  arsenal  at  Little  Rock.  It  was  largely  due  to  his  initiative 
and  efforts  that  the  last  of  the  Indian  tribes  were  induced  to 
remove  peaceably  to  their  several  reservations  beyond  the  western 
boundary. 

Fourth  General  Assembly— 

Members  of  the  fourth  General  Assembly  were  elected  Aug- 
ust 1,  1825.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were:  Arkan- 
sas county,  .Hartley  Harrington;  Clark,  Jacob  Barkman ;  Craw- 
ford,  William  Quarles;  Hempstead,  Daniel  T.  Witter;  Indepen- 
dence, J.  Jeffrey;  Lawrence,  J.  M.  M.  Kuykendall ;  Miller,  Clai- 
borne  Wright;  Phillips,  J.  \V.  Calvery;  Pulaski,  Alexander  S. 
Walker.  The  members  of  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county, 
Williair.  Montgomery ;  Clark,  John  Callaway ;  Crawford,  John 
Nicks;  Hempstead,  John  Wilson;  Independence,  Robert  Bean; 
Lawrence,  John  Hines ;  Miller,  Aaron  Hanscom ;  Phillips,  Henry 
L.  Biscoe;  Pulaski,  Ambrose  H.  Sevier.  They  met  in  regular 
session  October  3,  1825.  The  session  lasted  until  November  3, 
following.  Jacob  Barkman  was  elected  president  of  the  legis- 
lative council ;  Tlioma?  W.  Newton,  secretary.  Hobart  Bean 
was  speaker  of  the  house ;  David  Barber,  clerk.  Perhaps  the  most 
significant  general  Act  passed  at  this  session  was  that  in  regard 
to  the  practice  of  duelling.  It  provided  for  the  repeal  of  that 
part  of  an  Act  of  October  23.  1820,  entitled  an  Act  to  suppress 
the  practice  of  duelling,"  which  disqualified  persons  who  engaged 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY 

in  a  duel  "from  holding,  or  being  elected  to,  any  post  or  office  of 
profit,  trust  or  emolument,  either  civil  or  military,"  etc.  The 
reason  for  such  an  Act  of  repeal  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  law  of 
1820  could  not  be  enforced,  since  there  were  then  but  few  men 
of  any  standing  in  Arkansas  who  had  not  either  fought  a  duel  or 
approved  of  the  practice,  as  a  necessary  means  of  self-protection 
upon  occasions.  Such  men  argued  convincingly  enough  that  gov- 
ernment in  a  pioneer  country,  such  as  Arkansas  was  then,  was  too 
weak  and  insecure  to  afford-  the  personal  security  which  it  was 
every  man's  right  to  secure  for  himself  as  best  he  might. 

Fifth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  fifth  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
6,  1827.  Those  .elected  to  the  legislative  council  were:  Arkan- 
sas county,  Terence  Farrelly;  Chicot,  John  Weir;  Clark,  Isaac 
Pennington ;  Conway,  Amost  Kuykendall ;  Crawford,  John  Dil- 
lard;  Crittenden,  George  C.  Barfield;  Hempstead,  Daniel  T.  Wit- 
ter; Independence,  David  Litchfield;  Izard,  Jacob  Wolf;  Law- 
rence, William  Humphreys;  Miller,  John  H.  Fowler;  Phillips, 
Edwin  T.  Clark;  Pulaski,  Edmund  Hogan.  Members  of  the 
house  were ;  Arkansas  and  Chicot.  Wrilliam  Montgomery ;  Clark, 
Joseph  Hardin ;  Conway  and  Pulaski,  Ambrose  H.  Sevier ;  Craw- 
ford, Mark  Bean;  Crittenden  and  Phillips,  John  Johnson ;  Hemp- 
stead,  John  Wilson ;  Independence  and  Izard,  John  Ringgold ; 
Lawrence,  George  S.  Hudspeth ;  Miller,  James  Clark.  They  met 
in  regular  sesion,  October  1,  1827.  Daniel  T.  Witter  was  elected 
president  of  the  council ;  Thomas  W.  Newton,  secretary.  Am- 
brose H.  Sevier  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Andrew  Roans,  clerk. 
The  session  adjourned  October  31,  1827.  It  was  at  this  session 
that  the  county  of  Lovely  was  formed.  (See  High  Lights.) 

•  The  fifth  General  Assembly  held  a  special  session  from  Octo- 
ber 6  until  October  22,  1828.  At  this  session,  Ambrose  H.  Sevier, 
who  had  been  elected  delegate  to  Congress  in  December,  1827, 
to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Henry  W.  Conway  (see 
High  Lights),  was  succeeded  by  Edwin  T.  Clark,  as  president 
of  the  legislative  council.  Daniel  T.  Witter,  who  had  been 
speaker  of  the  house  during  regular  session,  and  who  had  resigned 
his  seat  in  the  house,  was  succeeded  by  John  Wilson  as  speaker. 

Congress,  in  April,   1828,  passed  an  Act  providing  for  the 
appointment  of  an  additional  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the 


20  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 


Territory.  This  increase  of  the  number  of  judges  from  three  to 
four  made  it  necessary  for  the  General  Assembly  to  reorganize 
the  circuit  courts,  by  the  creation  of  a  fourth  circuit.  Until  then 
there  had  been  but  three  judges  of  the  Superior  Court.  These 
judges,  sitting  together  at  the  seat  of  government,  constituted  a 
Superior  Court,  whose  business  it  was  to  decide  cases  appealed 
from  a  lower  court,  in  much  the  same  way  that  cases  now  are 
disposed  of  by  the  State  Supreme  Court.  But  unlike  the  judges 
of  the  present  Supreme  Court,  judges  of  the  territorial  Superior 
Court  were  required  at  other  times  to  preside  each  over  one  of 
the  circuit  courts  also. 

There  was  one  other  matter,  as  Governor  Izard  pointed  out 
in  his  proclamation  convening  the  special  session  of  1828,  which 
called  for  immediate  action  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assembly. 
On  May  28,  1828,  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  had  ratified 
a  treaty  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  by  which  the  greater  part 
of  the  new  county  of  Lovely  was  cut  out  of  the  Territory  and 
ceded  to  the  Cherokees.  Accordingly,  the  county  of  Lovely  was 
abolished  and,  out  of  that  portion  of  Lovely  which  remained 
within  the  territorial  boundaries,  the  county  of  Washington  was 
formed  (see  High  Lights). 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  '21 

JOHN  POPE 

GOVERNOR,  MARCH  9,  1829— MARCH  9,  1835 

From  the  date  of  the  death  of  Governor  Izard  until  May  21, 
1829,  Robert  Crittenden  was  again  acting  governor.  Meantime, 
President  John  Quincy  Adams  in  January,  1829,  sent  to  the  Sen- 
ate the  nomination  of  Hutchings  G.  Burton,  of  North  Carolina, 
for  the  governorship  of  Arkansas.  A  majority  of  the  senators 
took  the  view  that  the  appointment  should  be  left  to  the  incoming 
•  administration,  and  Mr.  Burton's  nomination  was  not.  confirmed. 
Andrew  Jackson  was  inaugurated  President  March  4,  1829,  and 
on  the  9th  his  appointment  of  John  Pope,  of  Kentucky,  as  gov- 
ernor, was  confirmed  by  the  Senate. 

John  Pope,  the  third  territorial  governor  of  Arkansas,  was 
born  in  Prince  William  county,  Virginia,  in  1770.  When  he 
'was  about  nine  years  old  the  family  moved  to  Kentucky.  John 
attended  Doctor  Priestly's  school  at  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  and 
-while  still  in  his  teens  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  right  arrn 
in  a  fodder  cutter.  He  then  attended  William  and  Mary's  Col- 
lege at  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  after  which  he  took  up  the  study 
of  law.  In  1794  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  practice 
at  Lexington,  Kentucky.  In  1800  he  was  one  of  the  presidential 
electors  on  the  Federalist  ticket  in  Kentucky;  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  from  Fayette  county  in  1802  and  again  in  1806,  and 
in  the  latter  year  was  elected  United  States  senator.  In  the  Sen- 
ate his  colleague  was  Henry  Clay.  Mr.  Pope  opposed  the  decla- 
ration of  war  against  England  in  1812,  which  caused  his  defeat 
for  re-election  to  the  senate.  He  then  resumed  the  practice  of 
law  at  Lexington  until  1816,  when  he  was  the  Federalist  candi- 
date for  Congress  against  Henry  Clay,  who  was  elected.  In  1819 
he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  State  of  Kentucky,  Although 
a  brother-in-law-  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  he  supported  Andrew 
Jackson  for  the  Presidency  in  1824.  From  1825  to  1829  he  rep- 
resented Washington  county  in  the  state  senate  of  Kentucky. 
He  took  an  active  part  in  the  political  campaign  of  1828,  can- 
vassing Kentucky  and  Virginia  in  the  interest  of  Andrew  Jack- 
son. On  March  9,  1829,  he  was  appointed  governor  of  Arkansas 
Territory,  as  already  stated. 

Governor  Pope  arrived  at   Little  Rock  -.  on  the  last  day.  of 
May,  1829,  and  assumed  the  duties  of  his  office.     On  the  24th 


22  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

of  June  he  embarked  on  the  steamboat  "Facility,"  to  return  to 
Kentucky  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  his  family  to  Little  Rock. 
He  was  the  first  of  the  territorial  governors  to  establish  his 
family  in  the  Territory.  In  March,  1831,  he  was  re-appointed 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  Congress,  having  added  then,  since  1829. 
a  year  to  the  term  of  territorial  governors. 

Upon  retiring  from  the  office  of  governor,  Pope  returned  to 
Kentucky.  He  was  defeated  for  Congress  in  1826  by  Benjamin 
Hardin,  but  was  elected  in  1838  and  twice  re-elected,  serving 
three  consecutive  terms.  In  1844  he  visited  Arkansas  on  busi- 
ness, went  from  there  to  his  home  in  Washington  county,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  died  July  12,  1845. 

Arkansas  has  never  had  a  more  enterprising  and  constructive 
administration  than  that  of  Governor  Pope.  In  his  first  mes- 
sage to  the  General  Assembly,  delivered  October  13,  1829,  he  laid 
the  foundation  for  what  may  be  properly  called  "the  era  of  inter- 
nal improvements  in  Arkansas  Territory."  In  that  message  he 
stressed  the  importance  of  improving  the  military  road  from 
Memphis  to  Little  Rock  and  of  opening  other  military  and  post 
roads.  For  such  enterprises,  he  said,  the  Federal  government 
would  provide  ample  funds,  if  assured  "that  the  funds  given  will 
be  faithfully  applied."  The  Territory,  he  said,  was  sadly  in  need 
of  permanent  and  appropriate  buildings  for  the  accommodation 
of  its  General  Assembly,  Superior  Court,  "and  other  public 
officers  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  government." 
"If  applied  to,  Congress  will,  I  have  no  doube,"  he  added,  "appro- 
priate a  portion  of  the  public  lands  for  this  purpose."  That 
these  and  other  constructive  enterprises  were  realized  during  his 
term  of  office  was  largely  owing  to  his  initiative  and  prudent 
management. 

Sixth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  sixth  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
3,  1829.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were :  Arkansas 
county,  Terence  Farrelly ;  Chicot,  John  Weir ;  Clark,  David  Fish  ; 
Conway,  Amos  Kuykendall ;  Crawford,  Gilbert  Marshall ;  Crit- 
tenden,  George  C.  Barfield ;  Hempstead,  George  Hill ;  Indepen- 
dence, Aaron  Gillett ;  Izard,  Jacob  Wolf ;  Lafayette,  Jesse  Doug- 
las ;  Lawrence,  Coleman  Stubblefield ;  Miller,  George  F.  Lawton ; 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  23 

Phillips,  Fleetwood  Hanks;  Pulaski,  Charles  Caldwell ;  St.  Fran- 
cis, John  Johnson;  Sevier,  Benjamin  Patton ;  Washington,  James 
Billingsley.  Members  of  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county, 
William  Montgomery;  Chicot,  Benjamin  L.  Miles;  Clark,  John 
Speer  and  Joseph  Hardin ;  Conway,  Thomas  Mathers;  Craw- 
lord,  Mark  Bean,  Jesse  L.  Cravens  and  Richard  C.  S.  Brown; 
Crittenden,  William  D.  Ferguson;  Hempstead,  John  Wilson  and 
Elijah  King;  Independence,  Caleb  S.  Manly  and  Charles  Mc- 
Arthur ;  Izard,  Robert  Livingston ;  Lafayette,  James  Burnside ; 
Lawrence,  George  S.  Hudspeth  and  John  Rodney;  Miller  and 
Sevier,  James  Clark ;  Phillips,  Edwin  T.  Clark ;  Pulaski,  Whar- 
ton  Rector  and  Alexander  S.  Walker;  St.  Francis,  Wright  W. 
Elliott ;  Washington,  John  Alexander.  The  members  met  in 
regular  session  October  5,  1829.  Charles  Caldwell  was  elected 
president  of  the  council ;  John  Caldwell,  secretary.  John  Wilson 
was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Daniel  Ringo,  clerk.  The  session 
lasted  until  November  21,  1829. 

A  majority  of  this  General  Assembly  accepted  with  hearty 
enthusiasm  the  leadership  of  Governor  Pope.  The  constructive 
measures  which  he  proposed  they  endorsed  by  the  adoption  of 
appropriate  memorials  to  Congress.  Congress  was  memorialized 
for  an  appropriation  for  the  erection  of  public  buildings  and  a 
residence  for  the  governor.  Appropriations  for  the  construction 
of  roads  were  also  asked  for,  to-wit:  (1)  For  the  completion 
of  the  military  road  between  Little  Rock  and  Memphis;  (2)  For 
a  road  from  Helena  to  intersect  the  military  road  at  the  most 
suitable  point;  (3)  For  a  road  from  Strong's,  on  the  St.  Francis 
river,  to  Litchfield,  on  the  White  river;  (4)  For  a  road  from 
Point  Chicot  to  Washington,  the  county  seat  of  Hempstead 
county;  (5)  For  a  road  from  Little  Rock  to  Villemont,  Chicot 
county;  (6)  For  a  road  from  Booneville,  Missouri,  to  the  Arkan- 
sas river,  via  Fayetteville. 

Seventh  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  seventh  General  Assembly  were  elected 
August  1,  1831.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were: 
Arkansas  county,  Terence  Farrelly ;  Chicot,  William  B.  Patton; 
Clark,  Moses  Collins;  Conway,  Reuben  J.  Blount;  Crawford, 
Robert  Sinclair ;  Crittenden,  Edmund  H.  Bridges ;  Hempstead, 
Daniel  T.  Witter ;  Hot  Spring,  John  \Vells ;  Independence,  James 


24  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Boswell;  Izarcl,  Jacob  Wolf;  Jackson,  Rowland  Tidwell;  Jeffer- 
son, William  P..  Hackett;  Lafayette,  Jesse  Douglas;  Lawrence, 
David  Orr;  Miller,  Nathan  G.  Crittenden;  Monroe,  William 
Ingram;  Phillips,  James  H.  McKenzie;  Pope,  Isaac  Hughes 
Pulaski,  Charles  Caldwell ;  St.  Francis,  Green  B.  Lincecum 
Sevier,  Benjamin  H.  G.  Hartfield;  Union,  Isaac  Pennington 
Washington,  Robert  McCamy.  Members  of  the  house  were 
Arkansas  county,  Harold  Stillwell ;  Chicot,  John  Gibson ;  Clark, 
.John  Wilson;  Conway  and  Hot  Spring,  Nimrod  Menefee;  Craw- 
ford, .Richard  C.  S.  Brown  and  Charles  Wolf;  Crittenden,  James 
Livingston;  Hempstead,  Thomas  W  .Scott  and  William  Trim- 
"ble;  Independence  and  Jackson,  Morgan  Magness  and  Caleb  S. 
Manley ;  Izard,  Frederick  Talbot ;  Jefferson,  Nehemiah  Holland ; 
Lafayette  and  Union,  James  S.  Conway;  Lawrence,  George  S. 
Hudspeth  and  Rol)ert  Smith,  Jr.;  Miller  and  Sevier,  John  Clark; 
Monroe  and  St.  Francis,  Samuel  Fil.lingim  and  John  W.  Cal- 
vert;  Phillips.  Fleetwood  Hanks;  Pope,  Andrew  Scott;  Pulaski, 
Samuel  M.  Rutherford  and  Peter  B.  Crutchfield ;  Washington, 
James  Pope  and  Abraham  Whinnery.  They  met  in  regular  ses- 
sion October  3,  1833.  Charles  Caldwell  was  elected  president  of 
the  council ;  Absalom  Fowler,  secretary.  William  Trimble  was 
speaker  of  the  house;  G.  W.  Ferebee,  clerk.  The  session  lasted 
until  November  7,  1831. 

This  was  the  "stormiest"  legislative  session  in  the  history  of 
Arkansas  Territory.  A  majority  of  its  members  were  of  that 
political  faction  which  followed  the  leadership  of  Robert  Crit- 
tenden. And  Crittenden  was  resolved  now  at  any  cost  to  defeat 
and  discredit  the  policies  of  Pope's  administration.  In  order  to 
compass  that  aim,  he  had  visited,  during  the  campaign,  many  of 
the  counties,  aiding  in  every  way  possible  the  election  of  candi- 
dates to  the  General  Assembly  who,  in  return  for  his  help, 
pledged  themselves  to  support  him  in  his  sinister  political  designs. 

Crittenden  was  a  clever  politician.  Nor  did  he  scruple  at  the 
use  of  all  the  cleverness  he  possessed  now  in  the  efforts  he  was 
making  to  lay  the  foundation  of  his  own  financial  and  political 
fortunes.  LIpon  his  retirement  from  the  secretaryship  of  the 
Territory  in  1829,  he  had  begun  to  lay  plans  which,  as  he  hoped, 
would  enable  him  eventually  to  effect  his  own  election  as  dele- 
gate to  Congress.  As  part  of  those  plans,  he  was  instrumental 
in  the  establishment  at  Little  Rock  of  another  newspaper,  the 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  25 

Arkansas  Advocate.  The  first  issue  of  the  Advocate  appeared 
on  March  31,  1830.  Charles  P.  Bertrand,  the  editor  in  name, 
left  it  to  Crittenden  to  shape  the  political  policies  of  the  paper. 
Accordingly,  through  its  columns,  Governor  Pope  and  all  his 
works  were  either  discounted  or  discredited  upon  all  occasions. 
And  thus  did  the  Advocate  render  no  little  assistance  to  Crit- 
tenden in  the  feverish  efforts  that  he  made  during  the  summer 
of  183.1  in  behalf  of  his  own  political  friends  who  sought  elec- 
tion to  the  General  Assembly  of  that  year. 

The  election,  though  a  victory  for  Crittenden,  was  in  reality 
but  the  opening  skirmish  of  other  political  battles,  yet  to  come ; 
which,  if  they  succeeded  also,  seemed  to  promise  success  in  1833 
to  Crittenden's  aspirations  to  go  to  Congress.  But  besides  the 
congressional  election  to  be  won,  Crittenden  was  sadly  in  need 
of  money.  In  1827  he  built  himself  a  residence,  which,  as  com- 
pared with  other  houses  in  Arkansas  of  that  day,  was-  something 
-of  a  mansion.  Crittenden's  house  was  built  of  brick;  was  one 
of  the  first  of  the  sort  in  all  the  Territory.  Because  of  its  pre- 
tentiousness, the  house  was  often  referred  to  as  the  "Big  House," 
by  those,  of  course,  who  disliked  its  owner.  The  outlay  of 
funds  for  this  mansipn,  his  loss  of  the  secretaryship  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, the  founding  of  his  newspaper  and  what  not  had  proven, 
it  seems,  too  great  a  drain  upon  his  financial  resources. 

Now,  meanwhile,  Governor  Pope  had  been  busy,  pushing 
the  enterprises  which  he  had  promised  in  1829  it  should  be  the 
policy  of  his  administration  to  put  through.  And  so  successful 
had  he  been,  with  the  able  assistance  of  the  then  delegate  to  Con- 
gress. Ambrose  H.  Sevier,  that  Congress  passed,  and  President 
Jackson  approved  on  March  2,  1831,  an  Act  granting  Arkansas 
ten  sections  of  land  with  which  to  erect  the  public  buildings 
which  Governor  Pope  had  said  ought  to  be.  Also,  this  Act  of 
Congress  left  it  for  the  General  Assembly  to  say  when  and  how 
the  gift  of  land  should  be  selected,  and  how  and  to  whom  it 
should  be  sold.  And  in  the  latter  provision  of  the  Act  Critten- 
den saw,  or  thought  he  did,  the  means  of  escape  from  his  own 
private  financial  difficulties.  For,  if  only  he  might  control  the 
General  Assembly,  then  he  could  get  possession  of  the  ten  sec- 
tions of  land  upon  terms  of  his  own  choosing.  Thus,  when  the 
General  Assembly  met,  almost  before  the  members  had  com- 
pleted the  organization  of  the  two  houses,  Crittenden's  offer  for 


26  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

the  land  was  received;  which  was  an  offer  to  give  in  exchange 
for  the  whole  ten  sections  his  "Big  House"  and  "the  office  and 
other  buildings  and  appurtenances  thereto  annexed."  Where- 
upon, and  without  any  undue  loss  of  time,  Crittenden's  friends 
in  the  General  Assembly  did  as  they  were  told — passed  an  Act 
accepting  his  ''proposition"  quite  as  he  had  made  it.  Naturally, 
Governor  Pope  as  promptly  vetoed  the  measure — naturally, 
because,  as  was  shortly  proven,  the  ten  sections  were  worth  not 
less  than  five  times  the  value  of  Crittenden's  house  and  "the 
appurtenances  thereto  annexed." .  After  failing  in  their  efforts 
to  override  the  governor's  veto,  the  General  Assembly  did 
precious  little  during  the  rest  of  the  session  but  fight  among 
themselves  and  denounce  Governor  Pope. 

One  other  incident  of  this  "stormiest"  of  legislative  sessions 
left  its  impress  upon  affairs  in  no  uncertain  manner.  For  one 
thing,  it  made  doubly  certain  the  defeat  of  Crittenden's  can- 
didacy for  Congress  in  1833.  And,  what  was  of  much  more 
importance,  it  disarmed  and,  as  it  were,  pointed  the  finger  of  ridi- 
cule at  the  self-seeking  opposition  which  sought  throughout  his 
administration  to  thwart  the  plans  of  Governor  Pope  to  erect 
the  very  public  building  which,  for  three-quarters  of  a  century, 
served  the  people  of  Arkansas  well  as  the  state's  capitol  (the  old 
State  House).  The  incident,  which  manifestly  helped  to  effect 
these  things,  grew  out  of  a  story  which  appeared  in  the  Arkansas 
Gazette  of  September  28,  1831,  that  is,  only  five  days  before 
the  General  Assembly  met.  The  writer,  who,  of  course,  was 
anonymous,  said : 

!'A  few  evenings  since,  as  I  was  rambling  through  one  of  the 
back  streets  in  this  town,  I  overheard  two  gentlemen  in  close 
conversation,  about  how  they  should  manage  the  members  of 
the  legislature  on  their  arrival.  The  voice  of  one  I  recognized 
to  be  that  of  my  old  friend,  the  Cardinal  (Robert  Crittenden 
was  called  the  Cardinal  Wolsey  of  Arkansas).  The  other  was 
a  stranger  to  me  and  had  only  been  a  few  days  in  the  town.  The 
Cardinal  appeared  to  do  the  principal  part  of  the  talking,  while 
the  other  listened  with  the  greatest  attention.  The  Cardinal 
addressed  his  friend,  and  said: 

1  'You  know  that  my  whole  object  is  to  promote  the  interest 
of  my  friends,  and  their  interest  must  be  promoted  no  matter  by 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  27 

what  means.  I  have  long  since  given  way  to  the  maxim  "the 
end  justifies  the  means" — so  that  we  accomplish  our  ends,  no 
matter  what  means  we  use  in  doing  it.  It  is  all-important  to 
the  welfare  of  our  party  that  the  Advocate  should  be  sustained 
and  kept  in  existence  for  another  year;  and  in  order  to  do  that, 
Bertrand  must  be  elected  public  printer.  In  that  event,  he  will 
be  able  to  pay  the  debt  contracted  in  Cincinnati  for  the  purchase 
of  his  press  and  types  (here  the  speaker  lowered  his  voice  and 
appeared  to  be  very  much  in  earnest),  which  purchase  was  made 
on  the  strength  of  a  letter  of  recommendation  from  me,  thereby 
making  me  legally  and  morally  bound  for  the  debt,  which  has 
been  sent  to  that  worst  of  all  my  enemies,  Ashley,  for  collection. 

"  'It  must  be  your  business  to  see  the  members  as  they  come 
in  and  give  them  my  views  in  relation  to  this  matter — and  impress 
on  their  minds  the  necessity  of  forwarding  our  views  *  *  * 
Yon  must  not  suffer  a  member  to  set  his  foot  in  any  man's  house 
until  I  can  see  him,  for  I  assure  you  that  I  have  thirty  first-rate 
Kentucky  hams,  and  wine,  brandy  and  whiskey  in  proportion, 
and  I  will  feed  and  feast  the  members  until  I  can  manage  them 
to  suit  my  own  purposes.  I  know  the  greater  part  of  them  well, 
and  1  know  that  a  good  dinner  and  a  good  glass  of  grog  will  do 
wonders.  I  have  often  tried  it  and  always  found  it  had  the 
desired  effect.'  " 

When  this  story  by  'Timothy  Catchem,"  as  the  author  signed 
himself,  first  appeared,  it  created,  at  most,  but  a  mild  sensation. 
Indeed  the  story,  no  doubt,  had  been  soon  forgotten  but  for  the 
passage  of  the  Act  to  dispose  of  the  state-house  lands ;  which 
Act,  as  the  editor  of  the  Gazette  said,  might  quite  properly  have 
been  entitled  "An  Act  for  the  benefit  of  Mr.  Robert  Crittenden." 
Then  it  was,  following  the  acceptance  and  veto  of  the  Critten- 
den offer,  that  the  fame  of  the  story  told  by  "Timothy  Catchem" 
spread  everywhere.  Immediately,,  aJl  those  members  of  the 
General  Asembly  who  had  voted  for  the  Crittenden  measure  were 
christened  the  "Canvass-ham  Party" — a  name  which  was  not 
soon  forgotten.  It  stamped  the  opposition  to  Pope  as  con- 
temptible. As  for  Crittenden,  the  effect  upon  his  political  aspi- 
ration was  fatal. 

Eighth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  eighth  General  Assembly  were  elected  Aug- 
ust 5,  1833.  Those  elected  to  the  legislative  council  were:  Arkan- 


28  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

sas  county,  Terence  Farrelly ;  Chicot,  Thomas  Anderson ;  Clark, 
Asa  Thompson ;  Conway,  Amos  Kilykendall ;  Crawford,  Robert 
Sinclair;  Crittenden,  Wright  W.  Elliott;  Hempstead,  James  W. 
Judkins ;  Hot  Spring,  John  T.  X-  Callaway ;  Independence,  James 
Boswell ;  Izard,  Jacob  Wolf ;  Jackson,  Rowland  Tidwell ;  Jeffer- 
son, James  H.  Caldwell ;  Lafayette,  George  G.  Duty;  Lawrence, 
Thompson  H.  Ficklin ;  Miller,  James  Clark;  Monroe,  Lafayette 
Jones;  Phillips,  William  F.  Moore;  Pope,  John  Williamson ; 
Pulaski,  Allen  Martin;  St.  Francis,  Carnes  H.  Alexander;  Sevier, 
Joseph  W.  M.  Hare ;  Union,  .Hiram  Smith;  Washington,  Mark 
Bean.  Members  of  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  Harold 
Stillwell;  Chicot  and  Union,  Thomas  J.  Thurmond;  Clark,  John 
Wilson;  Conway,  Jesse  C.  Roberts;. Crawford,  Bennett  H.  Mar- 
tin and  William  Whitson ;  Crittenden,  not  represented;  Hemp- 
stead;  William  Shaw  and  Hewitt  Burt ;  Hot  Spring  and  Sevier, 
John  Clark ;  Independence,  Morgan  Magness  and  Peyton  Tucker ; 
Izard,  Hugh  Tinnin  ;  Jackson,  St.  Francis  and  Monroe,  John  C. 
Saylor  and  John  Hill ;  Jefferson,  Ignace  Bogy ;  Lafayette  and 
Miller,  Jacob  Buzzard;  Lawrence,  John  B.  Hammond  and  George 
S.  Hudspeth  ;  Phillips,  Millendcr  Hunks;  Pope.  Wesley  Gur- 
rett;  Pulaski,  Samuel  M.  Rutherford  and  Richard  C.  Byrd ; 
Washington,  John  Alexander,  John  B.  Dixon,  James  Burnside 
and  John  Reagan.  They  met  in  regular  session  October  7,  1833. 
John  Williamson  was  elected  president  of  the  council ;  William 
F.  Youmans,  secretary.  John  Wilson  was  speaker  of  the  house ; 
James  B.  Keatts,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  November  7, 
1833. 

The  eighth  General  Assembly  was  the  last  legislature  of 
Pope's,  administration.  Unlike  the  session  of  1831,  a  majority 
of  the  members  supported  without  question  the  policies  of  the 
Governor.  It  was  at  his  suggestion  that  an  Act  was  passed  pro- 
viding for  the  selection  of  the  school  lands — the  sixteenth  sec- 
tion of  every  township — which  Congress  had  set  aside  for  the 
support  of  free  schools,  in  an  Act  approved  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States  May  20,  1826  (see  High  Lights).  Another 
Act,  for  which  Pope  was  responsible,  authorized  the  territorial 
treasurer  to  loan  the  fund  arising  from  the  sale  of  part  of  the 
seminary  lands — lands  set  aside  by  Congress  for  the  establish- 
ment of  a  state  college  or  university  (see  High  Lights). 

Congress,  since  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1831, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  29 

had  passed  another  Act, -which  the  President  Approved  July  4, 
1832,  which  gave  the  governor  full  power  to  select  and  sell  the 
state  house  lands.  He  was  further  authorized  to  erect,  with  the 
funds  arising  from  the  sale  of  these  lands,  the  public  building 
or  buildings  for  which  the  said  lands  were  appropriated,  with- 
out consulting  the  General  Assembly.  In  the  little  more  than  a 
year  since  Congress  had  given  him  this  authority  Pope  had  either 
sold  or  arranged  for  the  sale  of  the  whole  ten  sections,  and  upon 
terms  which  yielded  in  cash  $31,722.00.  Also  he  had  secured  "an 
eligible  site"  for  the  state  house  and  work  on  the  building,  as 
he  told  the  General  Assembly  of  1833,  was  already  "progressing 
with  all  practical  dispatch." 

On  October  24,  1833,  Governor  Pope  received  an  invitation 
to  a  public  dinner  in  "the  long  room  of  Mr.  Bissell's  Hotel," 
which  was  given  on  the  evening  of  October  26.  The  committee, 
who  delivered  the  invitation,  said  that  the  dinner  had  been 
arranged  by  members  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  leading  citi- 
zens, "to  express  to  you,  in  a  public  manner,  the  high  regard 
which  they  entertain  for  the  manner  in  which  you  have  dis- 
charged the  many  and  important  duties  devolving  upon  you  as 
governor  of  Arkansas."  The  dinner  was  attended  by  about  sixty 
gentlemen  and  the  festivities  lasted  until  a  late  hour.  John 
Wilson,  speaker  of  the  house,  officiated  as  toastmaster,  and 
among  the  responses  was  the  toast  to  Governor  Pope  for  "his 
rapid  progress  with  the  state  house;  his  veto  (of  the  Crittenden 
proposition)  will,"  the  speaker  added,  "be  remembered  by  the 
people  with  gratitude,  so  long  as  our  soil  bears  the  footprints  of 
a  freeman  and  patriot." 


30  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

WILLIAM  SAVIN  FULTON 

GOVERNOR,  MARCH  9,  1835 — SEPTEMBER  13,  1836 

The  fourth  and  last  governor  of  the  Territory  of  Arkansas, 
William  Savin  Fulton  took  office  March  9,  1835,  and  served  until 
September  13,  1836.  Meanwhile,  Lewis  Randolph,  of  Virginia, 
a  grandson  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  succeeded  him  as  secretary  of 
the  Territory. 

Fulton  was  born  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland,  June  2,  1795. 
His  father,  David  Fulton,  came  from  Ireland  as  a  young  man 
and  settled  in  Cecil  county,  where  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth 
Savin.  In  1804  William  was  enrolled  as  a  student  in  the  school 
kept  by  Rev.  Samuel  Knox  (afterward  Baltimore  College), 
where  he  graduated  in  September,  1813.  He  then  began  read- 
ing law  with  William  Pinkney,  of  Baltimore,  but  soon  gave  up 
his  studies  to  enter  the  army  as  an  aide  on  the  staff  of  Colonel 
George  Armistead.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  War  of  1812  he 
was  an  aide  on  the  staff  of  Commodore  Rogers.  In  the  fall  of 
1815  the  family  removed  to  Sumner  county,  Tennessee.  He  then 
resumed  his  legal  studies  with  Judge  Felix  Grundy,  of  Nash- 
ville, and  in  the  spring  of  1817  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 

He  began  practice  at  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  but  in  January, 
1818,  closed  his  office  to  become  private  secretary  to  General 
Andrew  Jackson.  He  served  with  "Old  Hickory"  through  the 
Seminole  WTar  and  in  1820  located  at  Florence,  Alabama.  Here 
he  combined  law  and  journalism,  becoming  editor  of  the  Florence 
Gazette-.  In  1821  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  Alabama. 
He  was  married  in  1823  to  Miss  Matilda  Nowland,  of  Alabama. 

The  friendship  that  grew  up  between  General  Jackson  and 
his  secretary  at  the  time  of  the  Seminole  War  was  a  lasting 
one.  Following  out  his  policy  of  appointing  his  friends  to  office, 
after  he  became  President,  Jackson  appointed  Fulton  secretary 
of  Arkansas  Territory  on  April  8,  1829.  He  succeeded  John 
Pope  as  governor  on  March  9,  1835,  but  his  term  was  cut  short 
by  the  admission  of  Arkansas  into  the  Union,  June  15,  1836.  He 
was  elected  one  of  the  first  United  States  senators  from  Arkan- 
sas,"by  the  first  General  Assembly,  and  continued  to  hold  that 
office  until  his  death,  on  August  15,  1844. 

In  theory,  Governor  Fulton's  administration  ended  June  15, 
1836,  upon  the  approval  by  President  Andrew  Jackson  of  the 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  31 

Act  of  Congress  admitting  Arkansas  into  the  Union  as  a  state. 
But,  in  fact,  he  continued  in  the  office  of  governor  until  Sep- 
tember 13,  1836,  when  James  S.  Conway  was  inaugurated  the 
first  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas. 

Ninth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  ninth  and  last  General  Assembly  of  the  Ter- 
ritory were  elected  August  3,  1835.  Those  elected  to  the  legis- 
lative council  were :  Arkansas  county,  James  Smith ;  Carroll, 
Thomas  H.  Clark;  Chicot,  John  Clark;  Clark,  Abner  E.  Thorn- 
ton ;  Conway,  Amos  Kuykendall ;  Crawford,  Richard  C.  S. 
Brown;  Crittenden,  Wright  W.  Elliott;  Greene,  George  B.  Creft ; 
Hempstead,  James  W.  Judkins ;  Hot  Spring,  Hiram  A.  Whit- 
tington ;  Independence,  John  Ringgold ;  Izard,  Jacob  Wolf ;  Jack- 
son, Rowland  Tidwell ;  Jefferson,  Richard  H.  Young;  Johnson, 
John  W.  Patrick ;  Lafayette,  Jacob  Buzzard ;  Lawrence,  Pey- 
ton R.  Pittman ;  Miller,  James  Lattermore ;  Mississippi,  Thomas 
J.  Mills;  Monroe,  Isaac  Taylor;  Phillips,  William  F.  Moore; 
Pike,  Elijah  Kelly;  Pope,  John  Williamson;  Pulaski,  Charles 
Caldwell ;  St.  Francis,  Mark  W.  Izard ;  Sevier,  Joseph  W.  Mc- 
Kean;  Union,  Hugh  Bradley;  Van  Buren,  John  L.  Lafferty; 
Washington,  Mark  Bean.  Members  of  the  house  were :  Arkan- 
sas and  Union  counties,  Bushrod  W.  Lee  and  Charles  H.  Seay; 
Carroll,  John  E.  Stallings ;  Chicot,  Hedgenian  Triplett;  Clark 
and  Hot  Spring,  John  Wilson ;  Conway  and  Van  Buren,  Thomas 
Mathers;  Crawford, 'James  Logan  and  Andrew  Morton;  Critten- 
den and  Mississippi,  John  Troy;  Greene  and  Lawrence,  Joseph 
Porter,  William  Jarrett  and  A.  Henderson;  Hempstead, 
William  Shaw  and  James  H.  Walker;  Independence,  Morgan 
Magness  and  William  Moore ;  Izard,  Brown  C.  Roberts ;  Jack- 
son, Monroe  and  St.  Francis,  John  Hill  and  E.  D.  W.  Scruggs ; 
Jefferson,  M.  R.  T.  Outlaw;  Johnson,  John  Ward;  Lafayette, 
Thomas  J.  Peel;  Miller,  N.  D:  Ellis;  Phillips,  John  J.  Bowie; 
Pike  and  Sevier,  James  Holman;  Pope,  Laban  C.  Howell ; 
Pulaski,  William  Gumming  and  Absalom  Fowler ;  Washington, 
Francis  Dunn,  Onesimus  Evand,  Thomas  H.  Tennant,  David 
Walker  and  Abraham  Whinnery.  They  met  in  regular  session 
October  5,  1835.  Charles  Caldwell  was  elected  president  of  the 
council;  S.  T.  Sanders,  secretary.  John  Wilson  was  speaker  of 
of  the  house;  L.  B.  Tully,  clerk.  The  session  laster  from  Octo- 
ber 5  until  November  16,  1835. 


32  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

The  only  really  important  Act  passed  during  this  session  was 
the  Act  which  provided  for  the  election  of  delegates  to,  and  the 
holding  of,  a  convention  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  state  con- 
stitution. The  passage  of  such  an  Act  was  then  in  order,  as 
Governor  Fulton  said  in  his  message  at  the  opening  of  the  ses- 
sion, because,  "From  an  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
Territory,  taken  for  the  present  year,  our  population  (51,809) 
is  found  to  be  equal  to  the  ratio  fixed  for  Federal  representa- 
tion.'' This  was  but  another  way  of  saying  the  population  of 
Arkansas  had  become  now  sufficiently  numerous  to  entitle  it 
to  elect  one  member  to  the  lower  house  of  Congress.  Accord- 
ingly, the  first  steps  were  taken  in  the  proces  which  won 
Arkansas  admission  into  the  Union. 


STATE    OF   ARKANSAS-ITS    GOVERN- 
ORS AND  THEIR  ADMINISTRATIONS 
1836-1921 

JAMES  SEVIER  CONWAY 

GOVERNOR,  SEPTEMBER  13,  1836 — NOVEMBER  5,  1840 

James  Sevier  Conway,  the  first  governor  of  the  State  of 
\rkansas,  was  born  in  Greene  county,  Tennessee,  December  9, 
1796.  He  was  the  second  of  seven  sons  born  to  Thomas  and 
Ann  (Rector)  Conway,  nearly  all  of  whom  are  outstanding  fig- 
ures in  the  early  history  of  Arkansas  and  Missouri.  Henry  W,. 
the  eldest  son,  was  three  times  elected  delegate  in  Congress  from 
Arkansas ;  Frederick  R.,  the  third  son,  was  recorder  of  French 
arid  Spanish  land  claims  at  St.  Louis,  and  was  afterward  sur- 
veyor-general of  Missouri.  John  R.,  the  fourth  son,  served  as  a 
surveyor  under  his  uncles,  William  and  Elias  Rector,  and  later 
became  an  eminent  physician.  He  died  in  California  in  1868. 
His  son,  Thomas,  was  a  member  of  William  Walker's  fiilibuster- 
ing  expedition  into  Nicaragua  in  1854.  William,  the  fifth  son, 
studied  law  and  in  1846  ;became  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Arkan- 
sas Supreme  Court.  His  name  frequently  appears  as  William  B. 
Conway.  On  account  of  the  fact  that  another  William  Conway 
frequently  received  his  mail  he  adopted  the  custom  of  signing 
himself  ''William  Conway,  B."  Thomas,  the  sixth  son,  died  in 
Missouri  soon  after  he  reached  his  majority.  Elias  N.,  the 
youngest  of  the  family,  was  for  several  terms  auditor  of  the 
Territory  and  State  of  Arkansas,  and  in  1852  was  elected 
governor. 

James  S.  Conway  first  came  to  Arkansas  in  1820  as  one  of 
a  surveying  party.  In  1823  he  bought  a  farm  on  the  Red  river, 
in  what  afterward  became  Lafayette  county.  Two  years  later 
he  was  appointed  by  President  John  Quincy  Adams  to  survey 
the  western  boundary  of  Arkansas  Territory  from  the  Red 
river  to  the  Arkansas.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that,  when  the  line 
was  resurveyed,  thirty  years  later,  no  variation  was  made  from 
the  Conway  line  of  1825.  In  1831  President  Andrew  Jackson 
appointed  him  as  the  Arkansas  commissioner  to  work  with  R.  A. 
Crane,  commissioner  from  Louisiana,  to  determine  the  southern 
boundary  of  Arkansas.  On  June  21,  1832,  the  office  of  sur- 


34  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

veyor-general  for  Arkansas  Territory  was  created  and  he  was 
appointed  to  the  position.  In  the  spring  of  1836  he  resigned 
and  Edward  Cross  was  appointed  to  the  vacancy. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  governor  in  1840,  he  retired 
to  his  plantation,  "Walnut  Hill,"  in  Lafayette  county.  Resisting 
all  the  importunities  of  his  friends  to  re-enter  public  life,  he 
devoted  his  attention  to  his  plantation.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
March  3,  1855,  he  was  one  of  the  largest  slave  owners  and  cot- 
ton growers  in  southern  Arkansas.  On  December  21,  1826,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Bradley,  daughter  of  a  pioneer  of 
Lafayette  county. 

First  General  Assembly— 

^Members  of  the  first  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas  were  elected  August  1,  1836.  The  constitution  of  1836 
provided-  that  the  General  Assembly  should  consist  of  a  senate 
and  a  house  of  representatives ;  that  the  senate  should  consist 
of  not  fewer  nor  more  than  thirty-three  members ;  that  the  house 
should  consist  of  not  fewer  than  fifty-four  nor  more  than  one 
hundred  members ;  and  divided  the  state  into  districts  for  the 
election  of  members  of  the  two  houses.  It  was  also  provided 
that  the  members  elected  on  the  first  Monday  in  August  should 
meet  on  the  second  Monday-  in  September.  The  state  house, 
which  owed  its  erection  to  the  constructive  enterprise  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Pope,  though  not  completed,  was  put  in  condition, 
and  the  General  Assembly  met  within  its  walls  for  the  first  time 
on  Monday,  September  12,  1836. 

Those  elected  to  the  senate  were:  Arkansas  and  Jefferson 
counties,  Samuel  C.  Roane ;  Carroll,  Izard  and  Searcy,  Charles 
R.  Saunders ;  Chicot  and  Union,  John  Clark ;  Clark,  Hot  Spring 
and  Pike,  A.  E.  Thornton;  Conway  and  Van  Buren,  Amos  Kuy- 
kendall ;  Crawford  and  Scott,  Richard  C.  S.  Brqwn ;  Crittenden 
and  Mississippi,  William  D.  Ferguson;  Greene  and  St.  Francis, 
Mark  W.  Izard ;  Hempstead  and  Lafayette,  George  Hill ;  Inde- 
pendence and  Jackson,  John  Ringgold ;  Johnson  and  Pope,  John 
Williamson ;  Lawrence  and  Randolph,  Robert  Smith ;  Miller  and 
Sevier,  Joseph  W.  McKean ;  Monroe  and  Phillips,  James  Martin ; 
Pulaski,  Saline  and  White,  John  McLean;  Washington,  William 
McK.  Ball  and  Robert  McCamy. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  35 

Members  of  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  James  Max- 
well and  James  Smith ;  Carroll,  Wilbur  D.  Reagan  and  Lewis  B. 
Tully;  Chieot,  A.  H.  Davies  and  D.  L.  F.  Royston;  Clark,  John 
Wilson  ;  Conway,  John  Linton ;  Crawford,  John  Drennan,  John 
Lassater  and  Andrew  Morton;  Greene,  Alexander  Tucker; 
Hempstead,  James  W.  Judkins  and  Grandison  D.  Royston;  Hot 
Spring,  John  W.  Reyburn ;  Independence,  Townsend  Dickin- 
son and  Charles  H.  Pelham ;  Izard,  Thomas  Culp;  Jackson,  Row- 
land Tidwell ;  Jefferson,  William  Phillips ;  Johnson,  E.  B.  Alston 
and  Samuel  Adams ;  Lafayette,  T.  T.  Williamson ;  Lawrence, 
Jonathan  Karelin  and  William  B.  Marshall;  Miller,  A.  G.  Mil- 
ton ;  Mississippi,  P.  H.  Swain ;  Monroe,  Isaac  Taylor ;  Phillips, 
J.  C.  P.  Tolleston  and  J.  J.  Shell ;  Pike,  Asa  Thompson ;  Pope, 
W.  II.  G.  Teevault  and  John  J.  Moose;  Pulaski,  Richard  C. 
Byrd  and  John  H.  Cocke ;  Randolph,  William  Pibourn  and  J.  J. 
Anthony ;  St.  Francis,  P.  Littell  and  Charles  Franks ;  Saline, 
Charles  Caldwell ;  Scott,  James  Logan ;  Searcy,  Brown  C.  Rob- 
erts;  Sevier,  George  Taaffe;  Union,  A.  J.  May;  Van  Buren, 
Luke  Grimes ;  Washington,  John  S.  Blair,  James  Boone,  James 
Brandon,  J.  M.  Hoge,  Daniel  Vaughan  and  Abraham  Whinnery. 

Sam  C.  Roan  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  A.  J.  Greer, 
secretary.  John  Wilson  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Samuel  H. 
Hempstead,  clerk.  The  session  of  1836  lasted  from  September 
12  until  November  8.  The  same  General  Assembly  held  a  special 
session  from  November  6,  1837,  until  March  5,  1838. 

LTnder  the  constitution  of  1836  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  to  elect  the  secretary  of  state,  the  auditor,  treas- 
urer and  the  judges  of  the  State  Supreme  Court.  Accordingly, 
the  two  houses  sitting  in  joint  session  held  on  different  days 
elected  Robert  A.  Watkins  secretary  of  state;  Elias  N.  Conway, 
auditor ;  William  E.  W^oodruff ,  treasurer ;  Townsend  Dickinson, 
Thomas  J.  Lacey  and  Daniel  Ringo,  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Daniel  Ringo  was  the  first  chief  justice.  The  General 
Assembly  also,  as  then  required  by  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  on  September  19,  1836,  elected  Ambrose  H.  Sevier  and' 
William  S.  Fulton  the  first  United  States  Senators  from  the  State 
of  Arkansas. 

The  most  important  legislation  passed  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly during  the  session  of  1836  were  the  Acts  creating  the  Bank 


36  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

•  • ' 

of  the  State  of  Arkansas  and  the  Real  Estate  Bank  (see  High 
Lights.)  During  the  special  session  of  this  General  Assembly, 
which  lasted  from  November  6,  1837,  until  March  5,  1838,  more 
than  two  hundred  Acts  were  passed.  Most  of  the  general  Acts 
of  this  latter  session  dealt  with  matters  affecting  the  proper 
organization  of  the  government  of  the  newly  formed  state.  The 
charters  of  the  State  Bank  and  the  Real  Estate  Bank  were 
amended ;  both  banks  were  given  authority  under  the  bank  char- 
ters, as  amended,  to  suspend 'payments  of  specie. 

It  was  during  this  special  session  that  occurred  the  notorious 
episode  of  the  killing,  on  the  floor  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, of  Major  Joseph  J.  Anthony  by  John  Wilson.  The  latter 
was  speaker  of  the  house  and,  also,  president  of  the  Real  Estate 
Bank.  Anthony  was  also  a  member  of  the  house,  representing 
Randolph  county.  Trouble  between  the  two  arose  over  remarks 
by  Anthony  intended  as  ridicule  of  the  Real  Estate  Bank.  Wilson 
took  Anthony's  remarks  as  a  person  insult.  And  when  Anthony 
refused  to  take  his  seat.  Wilson  left  the  speaker's  chair,  drew  a 
Bowie  knife  and  advanced  upon  Anthony,  who  was  also  armed 
with  a  knife.  In  the  struggle  that  followed,  someone,  it  seems, 
threw  a  chair  between  them.  Whereupon  Anthony  dropped  his 
knife  and  took  up  the  chair  as  a  weapon  of  defense.  As  he 
raised  his  chair,  Wilson  caught  it  with  his  left  hand  and  stabbed 
under  it.  Thus  Anthony  was  stabbed  in  the  breast,  fell  and  died 
almost  immediately.  For  his  act  Wilson  was  afterwards 
expelled  from  the  house  and  Grandison  D.  Royston  was  elected 
speaker  as  Wilson's  successor.  The  grand  jury  of  Pulaski  county 
indicted  Wilson  for  murder  in  the  first  degree.  But,  on  account 
of  the  excitement  at  Little  Rock,  his  attorneys  got  a  change  of 
venue ;  the  case  was  tried  in  May,  1838,  in  Saline  county,  at  Ben- 
ton.  The  jury  returned  a  verdict  of  "Guilty  of  excusable  homi- 
cide, and  not  guilty  as  charged  in  the  indictment,"  which  resulted 
in  his  acquittal. 

Second  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  second  General  Assembly  were  elected  Octo- 
ber 1,  1838.  As  provided  by  the  constitution,  eight  of  those 
elected  to  the  senate  in  1836  were  "hold-overs,"  who  continued 
in  office  for  the  full  term  of  four  years.  Thus  there  were  only 
nine  senators  elected  in  1838.  In  1838,  for  the  first  time,  mem- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  37 

bers  of  the  General  Assembly  avowed  themselves  as  belonging 
either  to  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  then  newly  formed  national 
political  parties  of  Whigs  and  Democrats.  There  were  in  the 
senate  four  Whigs  and  thirteen  Democrats.  The  house  was  com- 
posed of  seventeen  Whigs,  thirty-two  Democrats  and-  five  Inde- 
pendents. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas  and  Jefferson 
counties,  J.  Smith ;  Carroll,  Searcy  and  Izard,  C.  R.  Saunders ; 
Chicot  and  Union,  John  Clark ;  Conway  and  Van  Buren,  A.  Kuy- 
kendall ;  Crawford  and  Scott,  T.  C.  S.  Brown;  Crittenden  and 
Mississippi,  W.  D.  Ferguson;  Hempstead  and  Lafayette,  J.  H. 
Walker ;  Jackson  and  Independence,  D.  J.  Chapman ;  Johnson 
and  Pope,  John  Williamson;  Law'rence  and  Randolph,  Robert 
Smith  ;  Madison,  Benton  and  Washington,  O.  Evans  and  A. 
Whinnery ;  Miller  and  Sevier,  J.  W.  McKean ;  Monroe  and  Phil- 
lips, James  Martin  ;  Pike,  Clark  and  Hot  Spring,  A.  E.  Thorn- 
ton;  Pulaski,  White  and  Saline,  R.  C.  Byrd;  St.  Francis  and 
Green,  M.  W.  Izard. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  S.  V.  R. 
Ryan  and  J.  Maxwell;  Carroll,  T.  H.  Clark,  F.  G.  Wilbourn ; 
Chicot,  H.  Triplet!,  W.  H.  Gaines ;  Clark,  A.  H.  Rutherford; 
Conway,  N.  Menifee;  Crawford,  J.  Turner,  W.  DuVal,  J.  Miller; 
Crittenden,  W.  C.  Trice,  L.  H.  Bedford;  Greene,  N.  Murfee; 
Hempstead,  B.  P.  Jett,  A.  M.  Oakley;  Hot  Spring,  H.  A.  Whit- 
tington ;  Independence,  C.  F.  M.  Noland,  M.  Magness ;  John- 
son, Sam  Adams,  E.  B.  Alston;  Lafayette,  James  Trigg;  Law- 
rence. J.  Hutchinson;  Marion,  B.  C.  Roberts;  Mississippi,  P.  H. 
Simon ;  Monroe,  L.  D.  Maddox ;  Pike,  A.  Thompson ;  Pope, 
P.  H.  Martin,  A.  C.  Sadler;  Pulaski,  A.  Fowled,  L.  Gibson; 
Saline,  W.  S.  Lockert ;  Randolph,  W.  Pilbourn,  James  Martin; 
Scott,  G.  Marshall ;  Sevier,  George  Taaffe ;  St.  Francis,  C.  Neely, 
W.  S.  Moseley ;  Union,  Hogan  Moss ;  Van  Buren,  J.  L.  Laf- 
ferty;  Washington,  W.  S.  Oldham,  W.  L.  Wilson,  J.  McGarrah, 
R.  Bedford,  G.  W.  Sanders,  Robt.  Hubbard ;  White,  J.  P.  Brown. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  5,  1839.  Mark  W. 
Izard  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  J.  M.  Stewart,  sec- 
retary. Gilbert  Marshall  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  S.  H.  Hemp- 
stead,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  December  17,  1838. 

The   General  Assembly   of   1838  passed,   and  the   Governor 


38  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

approved  December  17,  an  Act  making  the  Governor  the  agent 
of  the  State  with  power  to  sell  the  seventy-two  sections  of  public 
lands  donated  by  the  United  States  for  the  erection  of  a  seminary 
of  learning,  or  state  university.  Under  the  terms  of  this  Act 
the  Governor  was  authorized  to  arrange  for  the  sale  of  the  lands 
for  one-fourth  cash,  the  balance  to  be  paid  in  three  equal  annual 
installments,  with  interest  at  ten  per  cent.  The  Act  provided 
also  that  all  funds  so  realized  be  deposited  in  the  Bank  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas  and  there,  allowed  to  accumulate  until  the 
money  in  the  bank  was  enough  to  pay  for  the  building  of  a  semi- 
nary or  college  (see  High  Lights).  The  General  Assembly  of 
1838  adopted  a  digest  of  the  laws  of  Arkansas,  for  which 
"Revised  Code"  Albert  Pike  prepared  the  notes  and  index.  An 
Act  was  passed  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  state  peni- 
tentiary. As  a  result  of  this  Act  the  State  acquired  possession 
of  the  tract  of  land  upon  which  the  new  State  Capitol  has  since 
been  erected  (see  High  Lights). 

The  only  state  officer  elected  at  the  session  of  1838  was  John 
Hutt,  to  succeed  William  E.  Woodruff,  as  state  treasurer. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  39 

ARCHIBALD  YELL 

GOVERNOR,  NOVEMBER  5,  1840 — APRIL  29,  1844 

Archibald  Yell  the  second  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  in  North  Carolina  in  August,  1797.  Before  he  was  of 
age  he  removed  to  Bedford  county,  Tennessee.  There  he  organ- 
ized a  volunteer  company  of  young  men,  to  which*  the  name 
"Jackson  Guards"  was  given,  and  of  which  he  was  elected  cap- 
tain. His  first  meeting  with  Andrew  Jackson  was  when  he 
offered  the  services  of  himself  and  his  company  to  General  Jack- 
son for  the  war  with  the  Creek  Indians.  Yell's  offer  having 
been  accepted,  he  and  his  company  afterwards  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Emuckfau,  Horseshoe  Bend,  Talladega  and  other 
engagement  of  the  Creek  campaign,  and  by  his  skill  and  bravery 
Yell  won  Jackson's  admiration.  Later,  when  General  Jackson 
called  for  volunteers  to  defend  New  Orleans,  Captain  Yell  was 
among  the  first  to  respond.  After  the  war  young  Yell  read  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  1818  he  again  answered  the 
call  of  General  Jackson  for  volunteers  and  served  through  the 
Seminole  War.  He  then  located  at  Shelbyville,  Tennessee,  where 
he  began  the  practice  of  law  and  was  elected  to  represent  Bed- 
ford county  in  the  legislature  of  Tennessee. 

Archibald  Yell,  in  whatever  capacity  he  was  called  upon  to 
serve  the  public,  whether  as  jurist,  statesman  or  soldier,  always 
acquitted  himself  with  credit.  No  man  of  his  time  was  more 
respected  and  trusted  by  the  people  of  Arkansas  than  he;  none 
has  left  the  impress  of  his  character  more  enduringly  upon  the 
history  of  the  State.  It  seems  a  pity,  therefore,  that  so  little  is 
known  with  any  degree  of  certainty  about  his  career.  Hallum 
in  his  history  of  Arkansas  says : 

"He  achieved  local  fame  as  a  lawyer  in  Tennessee  before 
Jackson  became  President.  When  that  event  crowned  an  era  in 
our  history,  the  old  hero  placed  the  judicial  seal  in  the  hands  of 
two  young  natives  of  North  Carolina,  in  whom  he  had  unquali- 
fied confidence — Archibald  Yell  and  Thomas  J.  Lacy,  names 
lustrous  and  inseparable  from  the  history  of  Arkansas.  Yell 
was  offered  choice  of  two  vacancies :  governor  of  Florida  or 
territorial  judge  of  Arkansas,  and  chose  the  "latter.  The  two 
young  men  were  commissioned  in  1832  and  proceeded  soon 
thereafter  to  their  respective  stations.  Judge  Lacv  located  in  his 


40  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

district  at  Clarendon,   in   Monroe   county ;  Judge  Yell   at   Fay- 
etteville." 

Hempstead  gives  a  different  account  of  the  circumstances 
of  his  removal  to  Arkansas,  to-wit :  "He  came  to  Arkansas 
from  Shelby ville  in  January,  1831,  having  in  the  previous  Decem- 
ber been  appointed  receiver  of  public  moneys  of  the  Little  Rock 
Land  District.  He  resigned  this  office  in  the  latter  part  of  1832 
and  from  1833  practiced  law  at  Little  Rock.  In  1835  he  was 
appointed  judge  of  the  Superior  or  United  States  Court  of  the 
Territory." 

Shinn's  School  History  of  Arkansas  says:  "He  moved  to 
Arkansas  in  1832,  to  fill  the  position  of  receiver  of  the  land  office 
at  Little  Rock,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  by  President 
Jackson.  Resigning  this  position  in  1832,  he  began  the  practice 
of  law.  In  1835  he  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Superior  Court." 

The  epitaph  on  his  monument  at  Fayetteville  is  as  follows: 
"Archibald  Yell,  born  in  North  Carolina,  August,  1797.  A  vol- 
unteer in  the  battle  of  New  Orleans ;  district  judge  of  Arkansas 
Territory  in  1832;  first  member  of  Congress  from  the  State; 
Governor,  1840;  elected  to  Congress  again,  1844;  resigned  and 
accepted  colonelcy  of  Arkansas  Volunteers  for  the  Mexican 
War,  1846;  killed  at  Buena  Vista,  February  22,  1847.  A  gal- 
lant soldier,  an  upright  judge,  a  fearless  advocate  of  popular 
rights,  a  sincere  friend,  an  honest  man." 

After  reading  these  contradictory  statements,  the  writer 
undertook  the  task  of  ascertaining,  if  possible,  just  when  Yell 
came  to  Arkansas.  A  diligent  search  was  made  through  old 
newspaper  files,  public  documents,  etc.,  when  it  was  learned  that 
he  arrivel  in  Little  Rock  on  December  15,  1831  having  been 
appointed  receiver  of  public  moneys  of  the  .Little  Rock  Land 
Office,  to  succeed  Captain  Benjamin  Desha,  resigned.  After  a 
few  months  he  resigned  the  receivership  to  begin  the  practice 
of  law.  On  March  3,  1835,  he  succeeded  Judge  Thomas  P.  Esk- 
ridge  on  the  bench  of  the  Superior  Court  of  the  Territory,  to 
which  position  he  was  appointed  by  President  Jackson.  He  then 
removed  to  Fayetteville,  in  order  to  be  in  his  judicial  district. 

Yell  was  nearly  six  feet  tall  and  of  athletic  build.  On  one 
occasion,  while  serving  as  judge,  when  the  name  of  a  defendant 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  41 

was  called  for  trial,  the  sheriff  announced  that  the  man  had  not 
been  arrested  because  he  was  a  noted  desperado  and  everybody 
was  afraid  to  serve  on  a  posse. 

"Where  is  he?"  asked  Judge  Yell. 

"At  the  saloon  here  in  town,"  replied  the  sheriff. 

"Then,"'  said  the  Judge,  "deputize  me  and  show  him  to  me." 

The  sheriff  immediately  qualified  the  judge  as  a  deputy  and 
led  the  way  to  the  saloon,  followed  by  a  crowd  of  curious  spec- 
tators. Judge  Yell  walked  up  to  the  reputed  desperado,  seized 
him  by  the  throat,  and  shouted :  "God  damn  you,  come  into 
court  and  answer  to  your  name  and  the  indictments  against  you." 

The  language  was  more  forcible  than  refined,  but,  coupled 
with  the  earnestness  of  the  judge,  it  had  the  desired  effect.  To 
the  astonishment  of  all,  the  culprit  offered  no  resistance,  but 
meekly  followed  the  judge  into  court,  where  he  was  unable  to 
furnish  the  required  bail,  and  was  committed  to  jail.  This  reso- 
lute action  of  the  judge  taught  the  lawless  element  that  his  court 
was  not  to  be  trifled  with  and  created  a  respect  for  law  among 
the  rude,  frontier  population. 

Politics,  it  seems,  had  more  attractions  for  Yell  than  did  a 
judicial  career.  When  the  State  of  Arkansas  was  admitted,  in 
1836.  he  left  the  bench  and  was  elected  the  first  representative  in 
Congress.  Pie  remained  in  Congress  until  1839,  and  in  1840 
was  elected  governor.  In  the  spring  of  1844,  about  six  months 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term,  he  resigned  the  governorship 
to  run  for  Congress  and  was  elected.  He  did  not  serve  out 
his  term,  for  when  war  was  declared  against  Mexico  in  May, 
1846,  he  resigned  to  enlist  as  a  private  in  the  First  Arkansas 
Volunteer  Cavalry.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  regiment  he 
was  elected  colonel.  It  is  said  that  'in  the  fall  of  1846,  a  few- 
weeks  before  the.  opening  of  the  last  session  of  the  Twenty-ninth 
Congress,  Colonel  Yell  asked  General  Wool  for  leave  of  absence 
to  attend  the  session.  The  general  told  him  the  only  way  he 
could  attend  the  session  of  Congress  was  to  resign  his  commis- 
sion, as  no  leave  of  absence  would  be  granted.  Yell  elected  to 
remain  with  his  regiment,  and  fell  while  leading  a  charge  at 
Buena  Vista,  February  22,  1847. 

Colonel  Yell  was  buried  upon  the  battlefield.     After  the  war 


42  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

his  body  was  taken  to  Fayetteville  and  buried  in  the  Evergreen 
Cemetery,  where  his  Masonic  brethren  erected  a  monument  over 
his  grave.  Two  of  his  wives  are  interred  in  the  same  cemetery 
by  his  side — Mrs.  Nancy  J.  Yell,  who  died  on  October  3,  1835, 
and  Mrs.  Maria  Yell,  who  died  -on  October  14,  1838.  His  first 
wife  died  in  Tennessee,  before  he  came  to  Arkansas. 

Third  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  third  Gerferal  Assembly  were  elected  Octo- 
ber 5,  1840.  There  were  twenty-one  senators  and  sixty-three 
representatives.  Of  the  senators,  sixteen  were  Democrats  and 
five  were  Whigs.  In  the  house  there  were  forty-one  Democrats 
and  twenty-two  Whigs. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  J.  Smith;  Benton  and  Madison,  A.  Whinnery ; 
Carroll,  Marion  and  Searcy,  W.  C.  Mitchell ;  Chicot  and  Union, 
J.  Clark ;  Comvay  and  Pope,  J.  Williamson ;  Crawford  and  Scott, 
J.  A.  Scott;  Critenclen  and  Mississippi.  \V.  D.  Ferguson;  Hemp- 
stead,  J.  H.  Walker;  Hot  Spring  and  Saline,  C.  Caldwell;  Inde- 
pendence, M.  Magness ;  Izard  and  Lawrence,  J.  S.  Licklin ;  John- 
son and  Franklin,  S.  Adams;  Miller  and  Sevier,  T.  W.  Scott; 
Monroe  and  Phillips,  D.  Thompson ;  Pike  and  Clark,  A.  E. 
Thornton;  Poinsett  and  St.  Francis,  M.  W.  Izard;  Pulaski,  R.  C. 
Uyrcl:  Randolph,  W.  '15 lack:  Washington,  O.  Evans,  D.  Walker; 
White,  Van  Burcn  and  Jackson,  L.  11  Tully. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  B.  L. 
Haller;  Benton,  Robt.  Hubbard ;  Carroll,  B.  Gather;  Chicot, 

A.  H.  Davis,  P.  Littell ;  Clark,  S.  Buckner,  A.  H.  Rutherford; 
Conway,  J.  Stephenson,  D.  Q.  Stell ;  Crawford,  William  DuYal, 
Tyree  Mussett ;  Crittenclen,  T.  M.  Collins,  A.  J.  Greer;  Desha, 
S.  H.  Davis;  Franklin,  E.  H.  Moffatt,  W.  Clements;  Greene,  R. 
Hardwick ;  Hempstead,  T.  T.  Williamson,  G.  Hill ;  Hot  Spring, 
H.    A.    Whittington ;    Independence,    C.    F.    M.    Noland,    J.    H. 
Enger;  Izard,  W.  M.  Wolf;  Jackson,  James  Robinson;  Jeffer- 
son, M.  W.  Dorris  ;  Johnson,  A.  E.  Pace,  M.  Rose ;  Lafayette, 
M.    Wright;    Lawrence,    W.    1>.    Marshall,    George    Humphrey; 
Madison,   G.  W.   Sanders,   H.   S.   Wilson ;   Marion  and   Searcy, 

B.  C.  Roberts,  S.  Leslie;  Mississippi,  P.  IT.  Swain;  Monroe,  Isaac 
Taylor;  Phillips,  J.  J.  Shell,  F.  Hanks;  Pike,  John  Wilson;  Pom- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  43 

sett,  Charles  Neeley ;  Pope,  John  Bruton,  G.  C.  Sadler ;  Pulaski, 
William  Cummings,  L.  Gibson,  C.  P.  Bertrand ;  Saline,  R.  Brazil, 
David  Dodd;  Scott,  T.  M.  Scott,  S.  Humphrey;  'Sevier,  H.  F. 
Hawkins,  W.  Scott ;  St.  Francis,  William  Strong,  W.  S.  Mose- 
ley ;  Union,  Hiram  Smith ;  Van  Buren,  George  Counts ;  Wash- 
ington, John  McGarragh,  W7.  L.  Larremore,  L.  C.  Blackmore, 
W.  D.  Reagan,  G.  A.  Pettigrew ;  White,  James  Walker. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  2,  1840.  Mark  W. 
Izard  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  Widgery,  secre- 
tary. George  Hill  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  S.  S.  Tucker,  clerk. 
The  session  lasted  until  December  28,  1840. 

In  his  first  message  to  the  General  Assembly,  Governor  Yell 
made  upon  the  subject  of  education  a  most  significant  recom- 
mendation. "As  a  larger  portion  of  our  rising  generation,"  said 
he,  "are  designed  for  agricultural  employment,  I  respectfully 
suggest  such  a  system  of  education  as  would  not  only  teach 
science  and  literature,  but  combining  practical  knowledge  of  the 
mode  of  farming,  which  will  tend  to  inculcate  principles  of 
economy  and  industry.  The  student  then,  in  quitting  his  school, 
is  qualified  for  his  profession  and  at  once  becomes  an  ornament 
and  useful  member  of  society."  So  far  as  is  now  known,  this 
suggestion  on  the  part  of  Governor  Yell,  that  a  "system  of  edu- 
cation" be  adopted  which  would  afford  the  "rising  generation" 
instruction  in  the  "practical  knowledge  of  farming"  was  original 
with  him.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  General  Assembly  did  not 
act  favorably  upon  his  suggestion.  For  such  an  idea  was  then 
many  years  in  advance  of  the  times. 

The  most  important  Acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  1840,  ' 
as  affecting  the  history  of  the  State,  were  an  Act  authorizing  the 
construction  of  levees  along  the   Mississippi  river  and  another 
regarding  the  disposal  of  the  seminary  lands.     (See  High  Lights.) 

Fourth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  fourth  General  Assembly  were  elected  Octo- 
ber 3,  1842.  Of  the  twenty-one  members  of  the  senate,  eleven 
were  elected  in  1842  and  ten  were  "hold-overs,"  who  were  elected 
in  1840.  Politically,  the  senate  was  composed  of  fourteen  Dem- 
ocrats and  seven  Whigs.  In  the  house  there  were  forty-two 
Democrats,  twenty  Whigs  and  three  Independents. 


44  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  J.  Yell ;  Benton  and  Madison,  J.  G.  Walker ; 
Carroll,  Marion  and  Searcy,  W.  C.  Mitchell ;  Chicot,  Union  and 
Bradley,  J.  Clark;  Conway  and  Pope,  J.  Williamson;  Hempsted, 
W.  Trimble ;  Independence,  M.  Magness ;  Jackson,  White  and 
Van  Buren,  I..  B.  Tully ;  Johnson  and  Franklin,  S.  Adams ; 
Lafayette  and  Sevier,  T.  W.  Scott ;  Lawrence;  and  Izard,  J.  S. 
Fic'klin ;  Mississippi  and  Crittenden,  A.  G.  Greer ;  Phillips  and 
Monroe,  D.  Thompson ;  Pike  and  Clark,  T.  C.  Hudson ;  Pulaski. 
R.  C.  Byrd;  Saline  and  Hot  Spring,  S.  W.  Rayburn ;  Scott  and 
Crawford,  J.  A.  Scott ;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett,  C.  Neely ;  Ran- 
dolph and  Greene,  W.  Black;  Washington,  D.  Walker,  M.  Bean. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Rich- 
mond Peeler;  Benton,  Alfred  G.  Greenwood;  Bradley,  John  H. 
Marks;  Carroll,  G.  W.  Baines,  J.  Fancher ;  Clark,  H.  Flanagin, 
J.  D.  Stewart;  Conway  and  Perry.  Thomas  S.  Haynes,  George 
W.  Lamoyne ;  Crawford,  A.  G.  Mayer,  William  Reeves;  Crit- 
tenden, Thomas  M.  Collins,  Peter  G.  Rives;  Desha,  Charles  A. 
Stewart;  Franklin,  W.  A.  Martin,  J.  Miller;  Greene,  Rice  Hard- 
wick;  Hempstead.  George  Conway,  John  Field;  Hot  Spring, 
Lorenzo  Gibson;  Independence,  Beniah  Bateman,  W.  livers; 
Izard,  Johoiada  Jeffrey;  Jackson,  David  C.  Waters;  Jefferson, 
John  S.  Roane  ;  Johnson,  William  Gray,  William  McCain;  La- 
fayette, James  F.  Nott ;  l>awrence.  George  Humphrey,  John 
Milligan ;  Madison,  William  Gage,  Daniel  Yaughan ;  Marion, 
Searcy,  John  Campbell,  IJrown  C.  Roberts;  Mississippi,  W.  M. 
Finley  ;  Monroe,  John  C.  Johnson;  Phillips,  Flisha  Burke,  T.  l>. 
Hanley;  Pike,  William  Bizzell ;  Poinsett,  A.  T.  Robertson; 
Pope,  M.  T.  Logan,  P.  Tackett ;  Pulaski,  John  W.  Cocke,  P.  T. 
Crutchfield,  Mared  C.  Martin ;  Randolph,  William  A.  Hous- 
ton, R.  J.  Wiley;  Saline,  Robert  Calvert,  R.  Brazil;  Scott,  J.  F. 
Gaines,  A.  Thompson;  Sevier,  A.  J.  Armstrong,  W.  Scott;  St. 
Francis,  John  W.  Calvert,  C.  L.  Sullivan ;  Union,  Albert  Rust ; 
Van  Buren,  George  Counts ;  Washington,  A.  W.  Arrington,  Lee 
C.  Blakemore,  George  Clyne,  Moses  Stout,  Williamson  S.  Old- 
ham  ;  White,  John  Arnold ;  Yell,  William  J.  Parks. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  7,  1842.  Samuel 
Adams  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  Widgery,  sec- 
retary. W.  S.  Oldham  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  S.  S.  Tucker, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  February  4,  1843. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  45 

It  was  at  this  session  that  Acts  were  passed  which  provided 
for  the  winding  up  of  the  affairs  of  the  State  Bank  and  the 
Real  Estate  Bank,  both  of  which  institutions  by  1842  had  not 
only  failed  utterly,  but  became  almost  universally  unpopular.  A 
geological  survey  of  the  state  was  authorized  and  two  constitu- 
tional amendments  proposed  for  adoption.  One  of  the  latter, 
which  was  afterwards  adopted,  was  to  the  effect  that  the  General 
Assembly  should  have  no  power  in  the  future  "to  incorporate 
any  banking  institutions  whatsqever." 


46  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

THOMAS  STEVENSON  DREW 

GOVERNOR,  NOVEMBER  5,  1844 — JANUARY  10,  1849 

On  April  29,  1844,  upon 'the  resignation  of  Governor  Yell, 
Samuel  Adams,  as  president  of  the  senate,  became  acting  gov- 
ernor. Adams  held  the  office  until  November  5  following,  when 
Thomas  S.  Drew  was  inaugurated  third  governor  of  the  State. 

Thomas  S.  Drew  was  born  in  Wilson  county,  Tennessee, 
August  25,  1802,  He  was  the  son  of  Newton  Drew,  who  had 
removed  from  Virginia  to  Tennessee  in  1797  or  1798.  The  son, 
Thomas  S.,  came  as  a  pioneer  to  Arkansas,  it  seems,  in  1819, 
shortly  after  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Arkansas.  He 
settled  first  in  Clark  county.  He  followed  for  a  time  the  occu- 
pation of  peddler.  Thus  he  formed  acquaintances  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  Territory,  and  by  his  courteous  manner 
and  fair  dealing  won  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  those  with 
whom  he  dealt. 

He  next  engaged  in  teaching  school.  And  while  thus  engaged 
he  married  the  daughter  of  a  pioneer,  of  whom,  however,  nothing 
more  is  known.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  he  located  in  Law- 
rence county,  where  he  changed  his  vocation  to  that  of  farmer. 
In  1836  he  was  elected  one  of  the  delegates  from  Lawrence 
county  to  the  constitutional  convention.  Soon  after  Arkansas 
was  admitted  to  statehood  he  removed  to  Randolph  county  and 
gave  his  entire  attention  to  the  management  of  his  plantation. 
He  was  not  an  aspirant  for  political  honors,  but  when  Dr.  Daniel 
J.  Chapman,  the  democratic  candidate  for  governor,  withdrew 
from  the  ticket  in  1844  he  was  offered  the  nomination,  accepted 
and  was  elected.  He  was  re-elected  in  1848,  but  resigned  in 
January,  1849,  serving  ojnly  about  two  months  of  his  second  term. 

Later,  some  time  in  the  fifties,  it  seems,  he  went  to  Texas, 
where  he  purchased  a  plantation.  He  died  near  Lipan,  in  Hood 
county,  in  1879  or  1880.  His  wife  died  and  was  buried  in  Ran- 
dolph county  before  he  left  Arkansas.  A  movement  was  once 
started  to  bring  his  body  back  to  Randolph  county  and  bury  it 
by  the  side  of  his  wife's  grave,  but  nothing  ever  came  of  the 
plan.  There  is  only  a  rough  headstone  to  mark  his  grave,  with 
no  epitaph  and  no  record  of  the  date  of  birth  and  death.  It  is 
said  that  in  Texas  people  point  to  Governor  Drew's  grave  as  an 


AND    LEGISLATIVE.   HISTORY  47 

example  of  the  lack  of  appreciation  in  Arkansas  of  matters  of 
historical  significance. 

Fifth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  fifth  General  Asembly  were  elected  October 
7,  1844.     There  were  twenty  Democrats  and  four  Whigs  in  the 
senate.     The  house  was  composed  of  sixty-four  Democrats  and 
nine  Whigs. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha,  J.  Yell;  Benton  and  Madison,  J.  G.  Walker;  Carroll  and 
Newton,  W.  C.  Mitchell;  Chicot,  Union  and  Bradley,  J.  Clark; 
Conway  and  Perry,  D.  Q.  Stell ;  Crawford,  Hans  Smith ;  Greene, 
and  Randolph,  William  Black ;  Hempstead,  William  Trimble ; 
Hot  Spring  and  Saline,  S.  W.  Rayburn :  Independence,  C.  H. 
Pelham;  Izard,  Van  Buren  and  Fulton,  J.  C.  Gaines;  Jackson, 
David  Maxwell:  Johnson,  M.  Rose;  Lawrence,  J.  S.  Ficklin; 
Mississippi  and  Crittenden,  P.  G.  Rives ;  Phillips,  M.  Irwin ; 
Pike  and  Clark,  T.  C.  Hudson ;  Pope  and  Yell,  J.  Williamson ; 
Pulaski,  T.  W.  Newton ;  Searcy  and  Marion,  J.  D.  Shaw ;  Scott 
and  Franklin,  J.  F.  Gaines ;  Sevier,  Lafayette  and  Pike,  J.  W. 
McKean ;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett,  Charles  Neely ;  Washington, 
Mark  Bean  and  Robert  McCamy. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  Harris 
Cross;  Benton,  A.  B.  Greenwood,  R.  Hubbard ;  Bradley,  E.  E. 
Dowdy;  Carroll,  G.  E.  Birnie,  T.  H.  Clarke;  Chicot,  Williford 
Garner;  Clark,  Joseph  Gray,  William  Owens;  Conway,  J.  J. 
Simmons,  John  Hardin ;  Crittenden,  Thomas  M.  Collins;  Craw- 
ford, A.  G.  Mayers,  J.  S.  Roane,  William  J.  Duval;  Desha, 
William  H.  Sutton;  Fulton,  Lewis  R.  Wells;  Franklin,  J.  D. 
Steele,  O.  B.  Alston;  Greene,  G.  B.  Croft,  James  Clark;  Hemp- 
stead,  H.  W.  Smith,  T.  N.  R.  Bankhead;  Hot  Spring,  P.  S. 
Physick,  J.  Shipp ;  Independence,  B.  Bateman,  M.  Clarke,  Mor- 
timore  W.  Baltimore ;  Izard,  Thomas  Riggs ;  Jackson,  M.  P. 
McCoy,  G.  W.  Cromwell ;  Jefferson,  Martin  Wr.  Dorrie ;  John- 
son, J.  B.  Wilson,  W.  W.  Floyd,  John  B.  Brown;  Lafayette, 
John  O.  Hightower;  Lawrence,  A.  A.  Simpson,  John  B.  Ham- 
mond, William  B.  Marshall;  Madison,  J.  C.  Sumner,  H.  D. 
Berry,  George  W.  Sanders ;  Marion,  Albert  R.  Robinson ;  Missis- 
sippi, William  L.  Wrard ;  Monroe,  Jordan  B.  Lambert;  Newton, 
Martin  Tackett;  Ouachita,  William  Foster;  Perry,  William  Rus- 


48  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

sell;  Phillips,  E.  Burke,  F.  B.  Culver;  Poinsett,  Richmond  Hall; 
Pope,  James  B.  Logan;  Pulaski,  C.  P.  Bertrand,  A.  Fowler, 
Fred  W.  Trapnall ;  Randolph,  William  Mitchell,  William  Stub- 
blefield;  Saline,  Charles  Caldwell ;  Searcy,  Isha  Hodges;  Sevier, 
Paul  R.  Booker,  H.  K.  Brown ;  St.  Francis,  Brice  M.  G.  Black- 
well,  Elisha  Franks;  Van  Buren,  William  Oliver;  Washington, 
J.  Billingsley,  C.  A.  Miller,  1.  Strain,  T.  Wilson,  L.  C.  Blake- 
more;  White,  John  Cook;  Yell,  William  J.  Parks. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  4,  1844.  John 
Williamson  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  M.  Ross, 
secretary.  John  S.  Roane  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  S.  S. 
Tucker,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  10,  1845. 

United  Slates  Senator  William  S.  Fulton  had  died  on  August 
15,  1844.  As  his  successor  for  the  term  which  did  not  expire 
until  Marcli  4,  1847,  the  General  Assembly  on  November  8 
elected  Chester  Ashley. 

In  his  message  to  the  General  Assembly  on  November  20, 
1844,  Governor  Drew  said  that  479,882  acres  of  the  500,000 
acres  granted  the  State  of  Arkansas  by  Act  of  Congress  approved 
September  4,  1841,  for  internal  improvements,  had  been  selected. 
Of  the  lands  thus  selected,  136,000  acres  had  been  sold  at  $2.00 
per  acre;  which  was  the  price  then  fixed  by  law.  He  recom- 
mended that  the  price  be  reduced  to  $1.25  per  acre;  that  a 
board  of  internal  improvements  be  created  to  sell  the  lands  and 
to  apply  the  proceeds  in  the  construction  of  roads  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  navigable  rivers  of  Arkansas.  Members  of 
the  General  Assembly,  however,  had  their  own  ideas  upon  the 
subject.  Accordingly,  they  created  the  office  of  land  agent, 
which  officer  they  reserved  the  right  to  elect  every  two  years. 
The  said  agent  was  only  authorized  to  negotiate  sales  of  what 
remained  of  the  500,000  acres  of  internal  improvement  lands. 

Some  of  the  other  Acts  of  a  general  nature  passed  at  the 
session  of  1844  were :  an  Act  changing  the  time  of  holding  gen- 
eral elections  from  the  first  Monday  in  October  to  the  first  Mon- 
day in  August ;  appropriating  such  school  funds  as  were  available 
for  the  purchase  of  books  for  free  distribution  and  for  use  in 
the  common  schools.  (See  High  Lights.)  Memorials  to  Con- 
gress were  adopted  asking  for  appropriations  to  build  levees  along 
the  Mississippi  and  the  Arkansas  rivers ;  to  complete  the  old 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  49 

military  road  from  Memphis  through  Little  Rock  to  Fort  Smith, 
and  to  remove  the  great  raft  from  Red  river. 

Sixth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  sixth  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
3,  1846.     The  senate  was  composed  of  twenty  Democrats  and 
four  Whigs.    There  were  fifty-six  Democrats  and  nineteen  Whigs 
elected  to  the  house. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  R.  C.  Byrd;  Betiton  and  Madison,  J.  B.  Dick- 
inson ;  Carroll  and  Newton,  W.  C.  Mitchell ;  Chicot,  Union  and 
Bradley,  J  .R.  Hampton ;  Conway  and  Perry,  D.  Q.  Stell ;  Craw- 
ford, Hans  Smith ;  Crittenden  and  Mississippi,  G.  W.  Under- 
bill;  Franklin  and  Scott,  J.  F.  Gaines ;  Hempstead,  H.  P.  Poin- 
dexter;  Hot  Spring,  Saline  and  Montgomery,  S.  W.  Rayburn; 
Independence,  John  Miniken ;  Izard,  Van  Buren  and  Fulton,  J.  C. 
Gaines;  Jackson,  White  and  Monroe,  D.  Maxwell;  Johnson,  M. 

Rose;  Lawrence,  _ ;  Marion  and  Searcy, 

J.  D.  Shaw;  Ouachita  and  Clark,  B.  W.  Pearce;  Phillips,  W.  K. 
Sebastian ;  Pope  and  Yell,  J.  Williamson ;  Pulaski  and  Perry, 
T.  W .  Newton ;  Randolph  and  Green,  William  Black ;  Sevier, 
Lafayette  and  Pike,  J.  W.  McKean;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett, 
S.  L.  Austell;  Washington,  Robert  McCamy  and  J.  D.  Mayfield. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Harris 
Cross ;  Benton,  J.  H.  Hammock,  William  Thompson ;  Bradley, 
Josiah  Gould;  Carroll,  S.  S.  Matlock,  J.  W.  Turman;  Chicot, 
Wilford  Garner;  Clark,  E.  B.  Kirby,  William  Gentry;  Conway, 
Richard  Griffin,  A.  Kuykendall ;  Crawford,  Eli  Bell,  R.  S.  C. 
Brown,  G.  W.  Clarke;  Crittenden,  Thomas  M.  Collins;  Desha, 
Isaiah  Hoi  comb ;  Franklin,  O.  B.  Alston,  F.  Dunn ;  Fulton, 
Lewis  R.  Wrells;  Greene,  G.  B.  Croft,  J.  M.  Mitchell;  Hemp- 
stead,  Tyra  Hill,  James  P.  Jett;  Hot  Spring,  Moses  R.  Woods; 
Independence,  Henry  Neill,  Charles  F.  M.  Noland,  John  C. 
Brickey ;  Izard,  Daniel  Jeffry ;  Jackson,  G.  W.  Cromwell,  W.  H. 
Bennett  ;  Jefferson,  Jordan  M.  Embree ;  Johnson,  W.  M.  H.  New- 
ton, Samuel  Farmer,  Samuel  Turner ;  Lafayette,  James  Abraham ; 
Lawrence,  Wr.  H.  Marshall,  James  Childers,  Samuel  Robinson; 
Madison,  Joseph  Dennis,  J.  F.  Wright,  George  W.  Forrest; 
Marion,  Nathan  Clements ;  Monroe,  Lewis  B.  Tully ;  Montgomery, 


50  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE  . 

Granville  Whittington ;  Mississippi,  Elliott  H.  Fletcher ;  Ouachita, 
Thomas  Woodward;  Perry,  Nathaniel  King;  Phillips,  Bailey 
Kendall,  E.  Burke;  Pike,  Elisha  Kelly;  Poinsett,  James  Scott; 
Polk,  Edward  L.  Pryor;  Pope,  J.  B.  Annis,  James  Bruton; 
Pulaski,  Charles.  P.  Bertrand,  Richard  Eletcher,  Peter  T.  Crutch- 
field;  Randolph,  J.  B.  Anthony,  B.  J.  Wiley;  Saline,  Green  B. 
Hughes ;  Scott,  Edward  A.  Featherston ;  Searcy,  Samuel  Leslie ; 
Sevier,  C.  Pettigrew,  C.  P.  Williams ;  St.  Francis,  F.  E.  Patrick, 
William  H.  Patterson ;  Union,  Albert  Rust ;  Van  Buren,  Luke 
Grimes;  Washington,  R.  Bucfianan,  J.  Billingsley,  R.  A.  Sharp, 
M.  Stout,  Isaac  Murphy;  White,  Thomas  J.  Lindsay;  Yell,  Theo- 
dore P.  Sadler. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  2,  1846.  William  K. 
Sebastian  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  M.  Ross, 
secretary.  Albert  Rust  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Jonas  M. 
Tebbets,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  December  23,  1846. 

On  November  9,  1846,  the  two  houses  in  joint  session  re- 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  Chester  Ashley,  whose  term 
was  due  to  expire  March  4,  1847.  There  were  six  candidates 
for  the  senate :  Chester  Ashley  received  fifty-seven  votes ; 
Archibald  Yell,  nineteen ;  William  K.  Sebastian,  twelve ;  Charles 
F.  M.  Noland,  three;  Absalom  Fowler  and  H.  F.  Thompson,  one 
each.  Ashley,  who  received  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  in  the 
General  Assembly,  was  elected  therefore  for  the  regular  term 
of  six  years  beginning  March  4,  1847. 

The  matter  of  greatest  concern  considered  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  1846  was  the  question  of  state  finance.  In  his  open- 
ing message  , Governor  Drew  declared  that  the  financial  condi- 
tion of  the  state  presented  a  "truly  dark  picture,"  which  called 
for  manly  treatment.  The  state,  he  said,  had  received  from  all 
sources  of  revenue  for  the  two  fiscal  years  ending  October  1, 
1846,  $51,918.42,  of  which  $7,381.99  was  paid  in  specie  and  the 
rest  in  depreciated  bank  notes,  worth  only  a  few  cents  on  the 
dollar.  The  first  General  Assembly,  said  he,  had  established 
the  State  Bank  with  the  idea  that  once  the  bank  was  put  in  suc- 
cessful operation  the  people  might  then  be  freed  from  the  bur- 
den of  taxation  altogether.  Under  that  impression,  the  tax  levy 
had  been  fixed,  during  the  special  session  of  1837-38,  at  one- 
eighth  of  one  per  cent  and,  until  the  banks  should  have  declared 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  51 

a  sufficient  dividend  to  pay  for  the  maintenance  of  the  state  gov- 
ernment without  additional  taxation,  drafts  were  authorized  to 
be  drawn  upon  the  surplus  revenue,  which  the 'United  States  had 
lent  to  the  state.  "It  appears,"  said  the  Governor,  "to  have  been 
doubted  at  the  time  whether  one-eighth  of  one  per  cent  would 
be  sufficient  to  meet  the  current  expense  of  the  state  govern- 
ment, as  the  provision  for  drawing  upon  the  surplus  revenue 
affords  abundant  evidence.  The  rapid  withdrawal  of  this  sur- 
plus revenue,  in  amounts  from  $40,000  to  $60,000  annually,  to 
supply  a  deficiency  so  great,  without  any  regard  to  its  reimburse- 
ment, soon  deprived  the  bank  of  the  use  of  that  deposit,  upon 
which  she  must  have  based  at  least  one  million  of  her  circula- 
tion, which,  with  other  very  palpable  causes,  produced  the 
destruction  of  that  institution."  In  view  of  Governor  Drew's 
stress  ?of  the  necessity  for  such  action,  the  General  Assembly 
passed  a  new  revenue  law,  which  was  intended  to  increase  the 
amount  of  the  public  revenue.  They  also  passed  an  Act  changing 
the  mode  of  voting  at  general  elections  from  viva  voce  to  the 
written  or  printed  ballot.  By  another  Act  they  incorporated  the 
Masonic  Grand  Lodge  of  Arkansas.  (See  High  Lights.)  The 
penitentiary  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  August  5,  1846,  and  the 
Assembly  passed  an  Act  which  provided  for  its  rebuilding,  at  a 
cost  not  to  exceed  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Seventh  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  seventh  General  Assembly  were  elected 
August  7,  1848.  The  senate  was  composed  of  five  Whigs  and 
twenty-one  Democrats.  Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  fifty-five 
were  Democrats  and  nineteen  were  Whigs. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  R.  G.  Byrd ;  Benton  and  Madison,  J.  B.  Dick- 
inson ;  Carroll  and  Newton,  W.  C.  Mitchell ;  Chicot,  Bradley  and 
Drew,  Josiah  Gould;  Crawford,  G.  W.  Clarke;  Crittenden  and 
Mississippi,  G.  W.  LTnderhill ;  Franklin  and  Scott,  S.  H.  Chism ; 
Hempstead,  H.  P.  Poindexter;  Hot  Spring  and  Montgomery, 
S.  W.  Rayburn ;  Independence  and  Izard,  J.  A.  Watkins ;  Jack- 
son, White  and  Conway,  D.  Maxwell ;  Johnson,  W.  A.  McCloin ; 
Lawrence  and  Fulton,  A.  A.  Simpson;  Ouachita  and  Clark,  H. 
Flannagin;  Phillips  and  Monroe,  Elisha  Burke;  Pope  and  Yell, 
J.  Williamson ;  Pulaski,  C.  W.  Wilson ;  Saline  and  Perry,  H.  M. 


52  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Rector;  Searcy  and  Marion,  J.  D.  Shaw;  Sevier,  Polk  and 
Lafayette,  A.  J.  Armstrong;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett,  S.  L.  Aus- 
tell ;  Union,  J.  R.  Hampston ;  Washington,  J.  E.  Mayfield,  A, 
McCamy. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,-  Lewis 
Refeld;  Benton,  J.  H.  Hammock,  W.  H.  Howell ;  Bradley,  Robert 
Edrington ;  Carroll,  T.  Haskins,  G.  Greer ;  Chicot,  James  Sin- 
gleton;  Clark,  J.  H.  Crow;  Conway,  J.  Gordon,  H.  H.  Higgins; 
Crawford,  G.  J.  Clark,  D.  C.  Brice,  T.  E:  Wilson;  Crittenden, 
Thos.  M.  Collins ;  Dallas,  William  F.  Smith ;  Desha,  Thompson 

B.  Flournoy;  Drew,  Wilford  Garner;  Franklin,  F.  Dunn,  G.  C. 
Sadler ;  Fulton,  Lewis  R.  Wells ;  Hempstead,  J.  S.  Cannon,  C.  B. 
Mitchell ;  Hot  Spring,  Moses  R.  Woods ;  Independence,  H.  C. 
Dye,  D.  C.  Montgomery ;  Izard,  Thomas  Riggs ;  Jackson,  James 
Robinson ;    Jefferson,    Ambrose    Hudgins ;    Johnson,    John    H. 
vStrong,   S.   Farmer ;   Lafayette,   David   H.   Dickson ;   Lawrence, 
W.  N.  Marshall,  S.  Robinson ;  Madison,  John  Berry,  John  Gage  ; 
Marion,  John  H.  Deeds;  Mississippi,  Elliott  H.  Fletcher;  Mon- 
roe, Phillip  Costar;  Montgomery,  James  Hudson;  Newton,  Isaiah 
Dodson ;  Ouachita,  A.  A.  Smith,  E.  A.  Warren ;  Perry,  William 
Russell;  Phillips,  John  Martin,  W.  E.  Preston;  Pike,  William 
Gilmore;  Poinsett,  Benj.  Harris;  Polk,  Edward  H.  Featherston; 
Pope,  J.  M.  Shinn,  J.  J.  Stirman ;  Prairie,  James  Erwin ;  Pulaski, 

C.  P.  Bertrand,  F.  W.  Trapnall ;  Randolph,  B.  R.  Baker,  J.  Bum- 
pass;  Saline,  W.  M.  Scott,  William  Hensley;  Scott,  Milton  Gil- 
breath  ;    Searcy,    Samuel   Leslie ;    Sevier,   Allen   T.    Pettus ;    St. 
Francis,  P.  T.  Hill,  M.  W.  Izard;  Union,  M.  Kesse,  J.  Reynolds, 
Shelton  WTatson;  Van  Buren,  David  Maddox;  Washington,  J.. 
Billingsley,  J.  Enyard,  I.  Murphy,  J.  Thompson,  A.  M.  Wilson; 
White,  Perry  Moore ;  Yell,  R.  Nettles,  W.  J.  Parks. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  4,  1848.  Richard  C. 
Byrd  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  M.  Ross,  secre- 
tary. Edward  A.  Warren  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Jonas  M. 
Tebbetts,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  10,  1849. 

In  his  message  Governor  Drew  said  of  the  new  revenue  law, 
passed  at  the  session  of  1846,  that  it  had  re-established  the  credit 
of  the  state.  The  total  receipts  under  its  operation  during  the 
past  two  years  was  $144,850.73.  This  was  an  increase  in  revenue 
of  $92,932.31  over  the  preceding  biennial  period.  Thus  the  state 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  53 

had  been  able  to  redeem  and  cancel  $22,037.55  in  outstanding 
warrants,  besides  paying  the  current  expenses  of  the  government. 

Of  the  general  laws  passed,  the  following  were  the  most  im- 
portant: An  Act  providing  for  the  holding  of  presidential  elec- 
tions thereafter  on  Tuesday  after  the  first  Monday  in  Novem- 
ber, so  as  to  conform  to  the  general  custom  followed  in  other 
states ;  an  Act  for  the  distribution  among  the  counties  of  the 
funds  arising  from  the  sale  of  the  500,000  acres  of  land  set 
aside  by  the  United  States  for  internal  improvements,  and 
another  dividing  the  funds  from  the  sale  of  the  seminary  lands 
among  the  counties  and  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a 
system  of  common  schools.  (See  High  Lights.) 

This  General  Asembly  held  three  elections  for  United  States 
Senator — one  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Ambrose  H.  Sevier, 
who  had  resigned  early  in  the  year  to  assist  in  securing  the  rati- 
fication of  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  by  the  Mexican 
Government;  one  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Chester  Ashley, 
whose  death  occurred  on  April  29,  1848;  and  one  for  the  full 
term  of  six  years  beginning  on  March  4,  1849. 

To  succeed  Senator  Sevier  four  candidates  were  placed  in 
nomination.  On  the  first  ballot  Sevier  received  thirty-six  votes; 
Solon  Borland,  forty-one;  Charles  F.  M.  Noland,  eighteen,  and 
John  Miller  one.  Eight  ballots  were  taken  without  change ;  then 
Mr.  Sevier s  name  was  withdrawn,  and  on  the  ninth  ballot  Bor- 
land was  elected,  receiving  seventy-four  votes  to  nineteen  for 
Noland  and  two  for  Grandison  D.  Royston.  This  term  ended 
on  March  4,  1849. 

William  S.  Oldham,  Samuel  H.  Hempstead,  William  J.  Sebas- 
tian, Grandison  D.  Royston  and  Thomas  W.  Newton  were  nom- 
inated for  the  unexpired  term  of  Senator  Ashely.  On  the  first 
ballot  Oldham  received  thirty-six  votes ;  Sebastian,  twenty-one ; 
Newton,  eighteen;  Hempstead,  eleven,  and  Royston  ten.  Sebas- 
tian was  elected  on  the  sixth  ballot,  receiving  forty-nine  votes ; 
Oldham  received  thirty-six ;  Royston,  ten,  and  Absalom  Fow- 
ler one. 

On  November  27th  the  two  houses  met  in  joint  session  to 
-elect  a  senator  for  the  full  term  of  six  years.  The  names  of 


54  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

Ambrose  H.  Sevier,  Solon  Borland,  Lorenzo  Gibson  and  Thomas 
S.  Drew  were  placed  before  the  Assembly  as  nominees.  Before 
the  balloting  began  the  name  of  Mr.  Sevier  was  withdrawn. 
Thomas  S.  Drew  received  nine  votes;  Gibson,  fifteen,  and  Bor- 
land seventy-one.  Major  Borland  was  declared  elected. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  55 

JOHN  SELDEN  ROANE 

GOVERNOR,  APRIL  19,  1849 — NOVEMBER  15,  1852 

In  November,  1848,  Thomas  S.  Drew,  who  in  August  before 
had  been  elected  governor  for  a  second  term  of  four  years, 
announced  his  purpose  to  resign  the  governorship  at  the  close  of 
the  session  of  the  General  Assembly.  He  gave  as  a  reason  for 
his  resignation  that  the  salary  was  .too  small.  On  January  10, 
1849,  when  Drew's  resignation  went  into  effect,  he  was  succeeded 
by  Richard  C.  Byrd,  president  of  the  senate,  who  became  acting 
governor.  Soon  after  taking  the  office,  Byrd  issued  a  proclama- 
tion calling  a  special  election  for  the  choice  of  a  governor.  The 
election  was  held  on  March  14,  1849.  There  were  two  candi- 
dates nominated  for  the  office — John  Selden  Roane  by  the  Dem- 
ocrats, and  Cyrus  W.  Wilson  by  the  Whigs.  In  a  total  of  6,545 
votes  cast,  Roane  received  a  majority  of  89.  Accordingly,  he 
was  inaugurated  governor  on  April  19,  1849. 

John  Selden  Roane,  the  fourth  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  near  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  January  8,  1817. 
He  attended  school  at  Princeton,  Kentucky,  and  in  1837  came  to 
Arkansas,  locating  at  Pine  Bluff.  About  five  years  later  he 
removed  to  Van  Buren.  In  1844  he  was  elected  one  of  the  rep- 
resentatives from  Crawford  county  to  the  General  Assembly, 
and  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house. 

When  President  James  K.  Polk  called  for  volunteers  for  the 
Mexican  War,  Roane  enlisted  as  captain  of  the  "Van  Buren  Aven- 
gers" and  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  at 
Washington,  Arkansas,  as  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  First  Arkan- 
sas Volunteer  Cavalry,  of  which  Archibald  Yell  was  chosen 
colonel.  At  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista,  where  Yell  was  killed  and 
the  regiment  thrown  into  confusion,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roane 
promptly  took  command,  rallied  the  men  and  turned  what  looked 
like  certain  defeat  into  victory.  After  the  war  was  over  he  re- 
turned to  Pine  Bluff,  where  he  lived  when  he  was  elected  gover- 
nor in  1849.  He  served  as  governor  from  1849  until  the  meet- 
ing of  the  General  Assembly  of  1852.  In  the  spring  of  1861. he 
was  active  in  raising  troops  and  was  commissioned  brigadier- 
general  in  the  Confederate  army.  As  such  he  rendered  efficient 
service  in  the  organization  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Depart  nent. 
He  died  at  Pine  Bluff  on  April  8,  1867. 


56  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

On  July  5,  1855,  Governor  Roane  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Mary  K.  Smith,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  G.  Smith,  of 
Dallas  county.  •  Four  children — one  son  and  three  daughters — 
were  born  to  this  union. 

Eighth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  eighth  General  Assembly  were  elected  Aug- 
ust 5,   1850.     The  senate  was  composed  of  twenty-one  Demo- 
crats and  four  Whigs.     Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  fifty-one 
\vere  Democrats  and  twenty-three  were  Whigs. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  N.  B.  Burrow  ;  Benton  and  Madison,  J.  Berry ; 
Carroll  and  Newton,  William  C.  Mitchell ;  Chicot,  Ashley,  Drew 
and  Bradley,  T.  N.  Byers ;  Comvay,  Jackson  and  White,  F.  De- 
Shough ;  Crawford,  George  W.  Clarke ;  Crittenden  and  Missis- 
sippi, G,  W.  Underbill;  Dallas  and  (  Hiachita,  A.  S.  lluey ;  Hemp- 
stead  and  Pike,  H.  P.  Poindexter ;  Hot  Spring/Clark  and  Mont- 
gomery, J.  H.  Crow ;  Independence  and  Izard,  J.  D.  Watkins ; 
Johnson,  W.  -McChiin  ;  Lawrence  and  Fulton,  A.  A.  Simpson; 
Marion,  Searrv  and  Van  Buren,  11.  S.  Maxwell;  Phillips  and 
Monroe,  Flisha  Burke;  Pope  and  Yell,  John  Williamson;  Pulaski 
and  Prairie,  Richard  Fletcher;  Randolph  and  Greene,  James 
Ellis;  Saline  and  Perry,  H.  M.  Rector;  Scott  and  Franklin,  S.  H. 
Chism ;  Sevier,  Polk  and  Lafayette,  S.  McNeeley ;  St.  Francis 
and  Poinsett,  Mark  \\  .  I/:ard;  Union,  J.  R.  Hampton;  Wash- 
ington, R.  McCamy,  J.  Billingsley. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  A.  H. 
Ferguson;  Benton,  D.  Chandler,  J.  Jackson;  Bradley,  H.  F. 
Bailey;  Carroll,  B.  W.  Avers,  T.  Denton ;  Chicot,  Ju'iK'S  Single- 
ton ;  Clark,  B.  M.  Hart ;  Conway,  E.  W.  Adams,  J.  Gordon ; 
Crawford,  A.  Martin,  W.  Russell,  Jr.,  Harvey  Stewart ;  Critten- 
den, T.  H.  Bradley;  Dallas,  George  C.  Eaton;  Desha,  T.  B. 
Flournoy;  Drew,  Hugh  Rogers;  Franklin,  G.  E.  Miller,  J.  J. 
Walker ;  Fulton,  Sam  Billingsley ;  Greene,  A.  L.  Stewart ;  Hemp- 
stead,  E.  Kinsworthy,  W.  Sissell ;  Hot  Spring,  S.  A.  Emerson, 
Independence,  H.  W.  Baker,  S.  J.  Trimble ;  Izard,  S.  E.  Rosson ; 
Jackson,  J.  G.  Witherspoon ;  Jefferson,  T.  S.  James ;  Johnson,  O. 
Basham,  S.  Farmer;  Lafayette,  Val  Sevier;  Lawrence,  A.  J.  Har- 
din  ;  Madison,  G.  Wr.  Forrest,  P.  M.  Johnson ;  Mississippi,  E.  H. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  57 

Fletcher;  Monroe,  R.  Pyburn ;  Montgomery,  H.  A.  Whittington ; 
Newton,  Isaiah  Dodson ;  Ouachita,  T.  Armstrong,  T.  Woodward ; 
Perry,  Edward  Simpson ;  Phillips,  W.  E.  Preston,  J.  C.  Tappan ; 
Pike,. William  Gilmer;  Poinsett,  Benjamin  Harrison;  Polk,  A  .G. 
Atkins;  Pope,  J.  G.  Bruton,  C.  E.  Tobey ;  Prairie,  B.  T.  Embry ; 
Pulaski,  D.  W.  Carroll,  F.  W.  Trapnall ;  Randolph,  H.  McElroy, 
William  Mitchell;  Saline,  J.  M.  Willis,  D.  Dodd;  Scott,  Charles 
Cauthron;  Searcy,  Sam  Leslie;  Sevier,  R.  V.  R.  Greene;  St. 
Francis,  C.  Caldwell,  F.  E.  Patrick ;  Union,  L.  Murph,  C.  L. 
McRae,  Shelton  Watson ;  Van  Buren,  J.  L.  Lafferty ;  Washing- 
ton, G.  B.  Anderson,  L.  C.  Blakemore,  G.  Cline,  J.  M.  Tebbetts, 
T.  Wilson ;  White,  P.  A.  Moore ;  Yell,  R.  Nettles,  T.  P.  Sadler. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  4,  1850.  John  R. 
Hampton  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  M.  Ross, 
secretary.  T.  B.  Flournoy  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Benjamin 
T.  DuVal,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  13,  1851. 

The  ElDorado  Female  Academy,  the  Tulip  Female  Colege, 
the  Arkansas  Military  Institute  and  the  Cane  Hill  Collegiate 
Institute  were  incorporated  by  the  eighth  General  Assembly.  The 
common  school  and  revenue  laws  were  amended;  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  was  incorporated;  an  Act  was 
passed  which  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  monument  to  Archi- 
bald Yell  and  other  Arkansas  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  Mexican 
War.  This  Act  authorized  the  clerk  and  sheriff  in  each  county 
of  the  state  to  solicit  and  receive  donations  to  the  monument 
fund,  pay  all  money  to  and  deposit  the  lists  of  subscribers  with 
the  state  treasurer,  and  the  governor  was  directed  to  appoint 
three  persons  to  select  a  site  on 'the  capitol  grounds  and  super- 
vise the  building  of  the  monument.  But  for  some  reason  the 
monument  was  never  erected. 


OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 


ELIAS  NELSON  CONWAY 

GOVERNOR,  NOVEMBER  15,  1852 — NOVEMBER  15,  1860 

Flias  N.  Conway,  fifth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  in  Greene  county,  Tennessee,  May  17,  1812,  the 
youngest  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  (Rector)  Conway.  Elias  was 
a  moral,  studious  lad,  but  never  prepared  himself  for  any  par- 
ticular profession.  When  he  was  about  six  years  of  age  his 
parents  removed  to  St.  Louis  and  later  to  Saline  county,  Mis- 
souri. After  attending  Alon'zon  Pearson's  school,  in  Howard 
county,  and  the  Bonne  Femme  Academy,  in  Boone  county,  he 
decided  to  seek  his  fortune  in  Arkansas.  In  1834  he  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  deputy  surveyor  and  assigned  to  work  in 
Benton  and  Washington  counties.  He  was  elected  territorial 
auditor  by  the  General  Assembly,  October  12,  1835,  which  office 
he  held  until  the  State  was  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1836.  He 
was  then  elected  auditor  of  state  and  held  that  office  until  Jan- 
uary 3,  1849,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  weeks  in  1841. 

On  November  15,  1852,  he  was  inaugurated  governor.  He 
was  re-elected  in  1856.  Having  served  out  his  second  term,  he 
is  the  only  governor  in  the  history  of  the  state  who  has  held  the 
office  for  eight  consecutive  years.  One  of  his  contemporaries 
said  of  him  shortly  after  his  death :  "Governor  Conway  was 
characterized  by  uprightness,  honesty,  faithfulness  and  accu- 
racy in  business.  His  was  the  most  economical  administration 
that  ever  was  or  ever  will  be  in  Arkansas.  He  was  very  careful 
of  every  dollar  expended,  When  the  war  came  up,  at  the  close 
of  his  eight  years'  administration,  the  treasury  was  full  of  money. 
He  left  more  impression  upon  the  State  than  did  any  of  his  pre- 
decessors. For  eight  years  he  was  the  government.  The  Legis- 
lature followed  his  advice  in  all  financial  matters.  Of  the  later 
governors,  only  Garland  has  surpassed  him  in  control  over  the 
Legislature." 

In  1860,  upon  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  governor,  he 
gave  up  all  active  participation  in  public  affairs  and  became  prac- 
tically a  recluse  His  little  cottage,  on  Third  street  near  Scott, 
in  the  City  of  Little  Rock,  was  always  open  to  his  friends,  though 
he  rarely  repaid  visits  or  appeared  in  public.  One  of  the  occa- 
sions when  he  broke  his  life  of  seclusion  was  to  attend  the  funeral 
of  his  old  friend  and  former  private  secretary,  Richard  H.  John- 


AND   LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  59 

son.  There  he  appeared  in  the  old-fashioned,  high-buttoned 
waistcoat,  long,  black  frock  coat,  with  clean  shaven  face,  and 
dignified  demeanor — a  veritable  ghost  of  bygone  days. 

Governor  Conway  stood  almost  six  feet  high  and  had  a  dark 
complexion.  He  was  not  a  stump  speaker,  but  was  a  politician 
of  the  old  school- -one  of  those  who  believed  that  a  man  was 
unfit  for  high  office  unless  he  was  well  enough  known  to  be 
elected  without  going  about  begging  for  votes.  It  is  said  that  he 
never  took  a  drink  of  intoxicating  liquor,  never  won  or  lost  a 
dollar  on  a  game  of  cards,  a  horse  race,  or  any  other. form  of 
gambling,  and  that  he  never  took  a  man  into  a  saloon  to  treat 
him  to  a  drink.  Yet  he  commanded  the  respect  of  gamblers  and 
saloon  keepers,  many  of  whom  voted  for  him  because  they  had 
confidence  in  his  ability  and  integrity.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
never  joined  any  church,  never  was  a  member  of  a  temperance 
society,  but  among  his  friends  and  supporters  were  hundreds  of 
the  most  active  church  workers  in  Arkansas.  He  enjoyed  the 
society  of  the  ladies,  for  whom  he  had  a  great  admiration,  though 
he  never  married.  His  death  occurred  on  February  28,  1892. 

Ninth  General  Assembly— 

Members  of  the  ninth  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
2,  1852.  There  were  nineteen  Democrats  and  six  Whigs  in  the 
senate.  Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  fifty-three  were  Demo- 
crats and  twenty-one  were  Whigs. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  N.  B.  Burrow  ;  Benton  and  Madison,  J.  Berry ; 
Calhoun  and  Ouachita,  A.  S.  Huey ;  Carroll  and  Newton,  W.  C. 
Mitchell ;  Chicot,  Ashley  and  Drew,  W.  M.  Harrison ;  Conway, 
Jackson  and  White,  F.  DeSough ;  Clark  and  Montgomery,  M. 
Boseman ;  Crawford  and  Sebastian,  George  W.  Clarke;  Crit- 
tenden  and  Mississippi, '  G.  W.  Underbill ;  Dallas  and  Bradley, 
B.  C.  Harley;  Hempstead  and  Pike,  H.  P.  Poindexter;  Hot 
Spring  and  Saline,  George  W.  Henson ;  Independence  and  Izard, 
D.  J.  Chapman;  Johnson,  Moreau  Rose;  Lawrence  and  Fulton, 
W.  E.  Davidson;  Marion,  Searcy  and  Van  Buren,  H.  S.  Max- 
well; Phillips  and  Monroe,  T.  B.  Hanley ;  Pope  and  Yell,  G. 
LeMoyne;  Pulaski,  Prairie  and  Perry,  R.  Fletcher;  Randolph 
and  Greene,  James  Ellis ;  Scott  and  Franklin,  Jesse  Miller ; 
Sevier,  Lafayette  and  Polk,  B.  F.  Hawkins;  St.  Francis  and 


60  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

Poinsett,   M.   W.  Izard;   Union,  J.   R.   Hampson;   Washington, 
John  Billingsley. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  A.  G. 
Ferguson ;  Ashley,  Thomas  B.  Savage ;  Benton,  J.  H.  Hammock, 
W.  J-  Howard;  Bradley,  W.  D.  Barnett;  Calhoun,  William  S. 
Thornton;  Carroll,  John  H.  Brittain,  T.  Denton ;  Chicot,  James 
S.  Peek;  Clark,  A.  B.  Clingman,  J.  L.  Witherspoon;  Conway,  A. 
Hays,  J.  Ouindley;  Crawford,  A.  Morton,  J.  D.  Shannon;  Crit- 
tenden,  J.  A.  Lovejoy;  Dallas,  S.  A.  Sanders;  Desha,  Shelby  W. 
Wilson;  Drew,  W.  D.  Crook;  Franklin,  J.  T.  Turner;  Fulton, 
S.  H.  Talbert;  Greene,  P.  K.  Lester;  Hempstead,  B.  P.  Jett, 
T.  H.  W.  Maddox;  Hot  Spring,  John  G.  Halliburton;  Indepen- 
dence, W.  C.  Bevens,  F.  W.  Desha,  J.  H.  Saffold;  Izard,  Thomas 
Black;  Jackson,  James.  Robinson ;  Jefferson,  A.  D.  Horseley ; 
Johnson,  O.  !>asham,  V.  Wallace;  Lafayette,  James  H. 
Caruthers ;  Lawrence,  W.  N.  Marshall,  G.  P.  Nunn ;  Madison, 
P.  M.  Johnson,  A.  Wood;  Marion,  J.  A.  Wilson;  Mississippi, 
Thomas  J.  Blackmore ;  Monroe,  Francis  P.  Redmond;  Mont- 
gomery, R.  S.  McFarlane ;  Newton,  G.  B.  Cecil ;  Ouachita,  J.  T. 
Bearden,  J.  1'..  Rumph  ;  Pcry,  -  -  Atchison ;  Phillips,  G.  Jeff- 
ries, A.  Wilkins;  Pike,  Samuel  Kelly;  Poinsett,  Lewis  H.  Sut- 
fin;  Polk,  J.  T.  Hayden  ;  Pope,  J.  S.  Bowden,  James  Hurton: 
Prairie,  B.  C.  Totten;  Tulaski.  W.  E.  Ashley,  B.  F.  Danley ;  Ran- 
dolph, H.  Mcllroy  ;  Saline,  James  F.  Fagan  ;  Scott,  M.  Gilbreath ; 
Searcy,  John  Campbell ;  Sebastian,  S.  M.  Rutherford ;  Sevier, 
A.  T.  Pettus ;  St.  Francis,  C.  Caldwell,  C.  L.  Sullivan ;  Union,  T. 
Bustian,  A.  T.  Raney,  D.  Ross,  A.  Rust;  Van  Buren,  J.  B. 
Lewis ;  Washington,  G.  Cline,  W.  N.  Bowers,  S.  R.  Moulden, 
Thomas  Wilson ;  White,  William  Norman ;  Yell,  D.  F.  Huckaby. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  1,  1852.  Thomas  B. 
Hanley  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  M.  Ross,  secre- 
tary. Benjamin  P.  Jett  was  speaker  of  the  house;  James  H. 
Hobbs,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  12,  1853. 

The  General  Assembly  of  1852  was  committed  to  some  plan 
of  action  which  promised  a  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Real 
Estate  Bank.  Accordingly  they  passed  an  Act  to  regulate  the 
manner  of  bringing  suits  against  the  State  to  enforce  the  pav- 
ment  of  the  bonds  which  the  state  had  issued  in  favor  of  the 
bank.  They  also  passed  an  Act  directing  the  attorney-general 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  61 

to  bring  an  action  in  Chancery  Court  to  dispossess  the  self- 
appointed  board  of  trustees,  who,  for  ten  years,  had  successfully 
resisted  all  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  State  to  investigate  and 
regulate  the  affairs  of  the  bank.  (See  High  Lights.) 

The  United  States  Census  of  1850  showed  the  population  of 
Arkansas  to  be  209,897,  which  entitled  the  state  to  two  repre- 
sentatives in  Congress.  An  Act  was  therefore  passed  by  the 
ninth  Legislature  dividing  the  State  into  two  congressional  dis- 
tricts, to-wit : 

First  District — The  counties  of  Benton,  Carroll,  Conway, 
Crawford,  Crittenden,  Franklin,  Fulton,  Greene,  Independence, 
Izard,  Jackson,  Johnson,  Lawrence,  Madison,  Marion,  Missis- 
sippi, Monroe,  Newton,  Phillips,  Poinsett,  Pope,  Randolph,  St. 
Francis,  Searcy,  Van  Buren,  Washington  and  White. 

Second  District — The  counties  of  Arkansas,  Ashley,  Bradley, 
Calhoun,  Chicot,  Clark,  Dallas,  Desha,  Drew,  Hempstead,  Hot 
Spring,  Jefferson,  Lafayette,  Montgomery,  Ouachita,  Perry, 
Pike,  Polk,  Prairie,  Pulaski,  Saline,  Scott,  Sebastian,  Sevier, 
Union  and  Yell. 

During  this  session  five  railroad  companies  received  char- 
ters, viz :  The  Arkansas  Western,  the  Arkansas  Central,  the 
Cairo  and  Fulton,  the  Napoleon  &  Little  Rock,  and  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley.  The  Memphis  &  Little  Rock  Plank  Road  Company 
was  also  given  the  privilege  of  building  a  railroad,  if  the  directors 
found  it  expedient.  They  also  incorporated  the  Mine  Creek 
Male  and  Female  College,  Cane  Hill  Female  Seminary,  Oil 
Trough  Academy,  Arkansas  College,  the  Boston  Male  and  Female 
College,  Makemie  College  and  Lacy  Female  Academy. 

Tenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  tenth  General  Assembly  were  elected  August 
7,  1854.    The  senate  was  composed  of  seven  Whigs  and  eighteen 
Democrats.    Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  seventeen  were  Whigs 
and  fifty-eight  were  Democrats. 

Tlie  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  A.  H.  Ferguson;  Benton  and  Madison,  John 
Berry;  Carroll  and  Newton,  John  McCoy;  Chicot,  Ashley  and 
Drew,  W.  M.  Harrison ;  Clark  and  Montgomery,  W.  F.  S.  Bark- 


62  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

man ;  Conway,  Jackson  and  White,  W.  S.  Keith ;  Crawford  and 
Sebastian, -  J.  J.  Green;  Crittenden  and  Mississippi,  T.  B.  Craig- 
head;  Dallas  and  Bradley,  B.  C.  Harley;  Hempstead  and  Pike, 
P.  R.  Booker;  Hot  Spring  and  Saline,  G.  W.  Hinson;  Indepen- 
dence and  Izard,  D.  J.  Chapman;  Johnson,  Monreau  Rose;  Law- 
rence and  Fulton,  W.  H.  Judkins ;  Marion,  Searcy  and  Van 
Buren,  C.  Coker;  Ouachita  and  Calhoun,  J.  H.  Scoggin;  Phil- 
lips and  Monroe,  T.  B.  Hanley;  Pope  and  Yell,  G.  W.  Lemoyne; 
Pulaski,  Prairie  and  Perry,  B.  C.  Totten  ;  Randolph  and  Greene, 
W.  R.  Cain;  Scott  and  Franklin,  Jesse  Miller;  Sevier,  Lafayette 
and  Polk,  F.  B.  Hawkins ;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett,  W.  A.  Jones ; 
Union,  J.  H.  Askew ;  Washington,  John  Enyart. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  Sam 
Mitchell ;  Ashley,  John  R.  Allen ;  Benton,  M.  Douglass,  A.  Whin- 
nery;  Bradley,  Robert  Edrington;  Calhoun,  J.  J.  Harris;  Car- 
roll, Bradley  Bunch,  John  Hagin ;  Chicot,  William  J.  Neely; 
Clark,  J.  E.  M.  Barkman,  A.  B.  Beale ;  Conway,  A.  Gordon, 
J.  J.  Jones ;  Crawford,  J.  M.  Brown,  A.  Morton ;  Crittenden, 
James  F.  Barton ;  Dallas,  William  T.  M.  Holmes ;  Desha,  Solon 

B.  Jones ;  Drew,  William  G.  Guice ;  Franklin,  Gaddis  E.  Miller ; 
Fulton,    Strother   E.    Burgess ;   Greene,   James   K.    Norsworthy ; 
Hempstead,  H.  Bishop,  J.  S.  Cannon;  Hot  Spring,  E.  C.  Jones; 
Independence,   E.   Baxter,   F.   W.    Desha,   D.    C.    Montgomery; 
Izard,   John    A.    Beck ;    Jackson,    W.    K.    Patterson ;    Jefferson, 
George  C.  Tuley ;  Johnson,  H.  G.  Butts,  J.  G.  Watson ;  Lafayette, 
Alexander  Byrne ;  Lawrence,  G.  R.  Jones,  G.  P.  Nunn ;  Madi- 
son, P.  M.  Johnson,  A.  Wood ;  Marion,  W.  P.  Flippin ;  Missis- 
sippi, Joseph  C.  Harding;  Monroe,  Francis  P.  Redmond;  Mont- 
gomery, W.  Stringfellow ;  Newton,  William  Ramsay ;  Ouachita, 

C.  H.  Thome,  W.  S.  Wade ;  Perry,  Levin  D.  Hill ;  Phillips,  R.  B. 
Maxon,  W.  D.  Rice;  Pike,  W.  B.  Gould;  Poinsett,  A.  T.  Pur- 
year  ;  Polk,  William  Jernigan ;  Pope,  James  Bruton,  William  D. 
Poe;  Prairie,  E.   M.  Williams;   Pulaski,  H.   M.   Rector,  Joseph 
Stillwell ;  Randolph,  W.  R.  Hunter ;  Saline,  A.  R.  Hockersmith ; 
Scott,  James  Logan;  Searcy,  Samuel  Leslie;  Sebastian,  Samuel 
Edmondson;  Sevier,  Charles  Pettigrew ;  St.  Francis,  S.  L.  Aus- 
tell,  J.  W.  Calvert ;  Union,  B.  R.  Matthews,  G.  Newton,  W.  E. 
Powell,  John  Prince;  Van  Buren,  Jesse  Witt;  Washington,  L. 
Gregg,  S.  R.  Mouldin,  B.  H.  Smithson,  Thomas  Wilson;  White, 
John  Terry;  Yell,  B.  J.  Jacoway. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE  .HISTORY  63 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  6,  1854.  B.  C.  Har- 
ley  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  W.  L.  D.  Williams,  sec- 
retary. Samuel  Mitchell  was  speaker  of  the  house;  James  H. 
Hobbs,  clerk,  The  session  lasted  until  January  22,  1855. 

For  some  reason  the  attorney-general  refused  or  failed  to 
comply  with  the  Act  of  1852  by  which  he  was  directed  to  bring 
suit  in  Chancery  Court  to  take  control  of  the  affairs  of  the  Real 
Estate  Bank  out  of  the  hands  of  the  self-styled  board  of  trustees. 
After  waiting  for  some  time,  the  Governor  had  employed  special 
attorneys  to  file  the  suit.  Still  the  business  was  delayed,  and 
finally  the  state  auditor  resigned  his  office  rather  than  furnish 
the  information  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  the  suit.  Thus 
the  trustees  were  still  in  control  of  the  bank  when  the  General 
Assembly  met  in  1854.  And,  at  the  suggestion  of  Governor 
Conway,  the  Assembly  now  passed  an  Act  creating  a  separate 
Court  of  Chancery  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  settlement  of 
the  affairs  of  the  Real  Estate  Bank.  This  court  appointed  a 
receiver  for  the  bank,  to  whom  the  trustees  were  forced  finally 
to  turn  over  the  property  and  records  of  the  bank.  Thus'  the 
State,  during  the  next  six  years  of  Governor  Conway's  adminis- 
tration, was  able  to  apply  the  assets  of  the  bank  towards  the 
redemption  of  part  of  the  bonds  issued  by.  the  State  in  favor  of 
the  bank.  This  General  Assembly  granted  certain  lands  to  the 
Cairo  &  Fulton  Railroad  Company  for  the  construction  of  its 
main  line  .and  branches ;  the  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Smith  &  Missis- 
sippi Railroad  Company,  and  the  Ouachita  &  Red  River  Railroad 
Company  were  incorporated. 

On  July  6,  1853,  Governor  Conway  had  appointed  Robert. W. 
Johnson  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  Solon  Borland,  who 
had  resigned.  The  General  Assembly  of  1854  elected  Johnson 
to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  and  to  a  full  term  of  six  years, 
beginning  March  4,  1855. 

Eleventh  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  eleventh  General  Assembly  were  elected 
August  4,  1856.  In  1856,  with  but  few  exceptions,  what  had 
been  the  Whig  party  in  Arkansas  joined  a  new  national  politi- 
cal party  known  as  the  Know  Nothings.  Thus,  in  the  election 
of  that  year,  Governor  Conway  was  opposed  for  re-election  by 


64  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

lames  Yell,  who  was  the  candidate  of  the  Know  Nothings.  Con- 
way  defeated  Yell  by  nearly  two  to  one,  though  the  Know  Noth- 
ings elected  almost  as  many  members  of  the  General  Assembly 
as  the  old  Whig  party  had  been  accustomed  to  elect.  In  the 
senate  there  were  twenty  Democrats  to  five  Know  Nothings. 
Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  sixty-five  were  Democrats  and 
nine  were  Know  Nothings. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  A.  H.  Ferguson  ;  Benton  and  Madison,  I.  Mur- 
phy; Carroll  and  Newton,  \Y.  W.  Watkins ;  Chicot,  Drew  and 
Ashley,  R.  M.  Gaines ;  Clark  and  Montgomery,  W.  F.  S.  Bark- 
man ;  Conway,  Pery  and  Yell,  J.  I.  Stirman ;  Crawford  and 
Franklin,  J.  P.  Humphrey;  Crittenden  and  Mississippi,  T.  B. 
Craighead ;  Dallas  and  Bradley,  John  R.  Hampton;  Hempstead 
and  Pike,  G.  D.  Royston;  Independence,  J.  S.  Trimble;  Johnson 
and  Pope,  W.  W.  Floyd ;  Lawrence  and  Fulton,  \Y.  B.  Marshall ; 
Ouachita  and  Calhoun,  J.  H.  Scoggins ;  Phillips  and  Monroe, 

F.  P.   Redman ;   Pulaski  and   Prairie,   B.   D.   Totten ;   Randolph 
and  Greene,  William  R.  Cain ;   Saline,   Hot   Spring  and   Mont- 
gomery, W.  H.  Hammond ;  Searcy  and  Marion,  Calvin  Coker  ; 
Sebastian  and  Scott,  Green  J.  Clark ;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett, 
William  A.  Jones;  Union,  J.  H.  Askew ;  Van  Buren  and  Izard, 
S.  E.  Blosson;  Washington,  J.  Enyart ;  White,  Jackson  and  Con- 
way,  William  S.  Keith. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Samuel 
Mitchell;  Ashley,  John  Hill;  Benton  M.  Douglas,  T.  Quarles; 
Bradley,  Mason  B.  Lowery ;  Calhoun,  H.  W.  Ashley;  Carroll, 

B.  W.  Ayres,   B.   Bunch;   Chicot,   Nathan   Ross;   Clark,  A.   B. 
Beall,  W.  C.  Gentry ;  Conway,  James  P.  Venable ;  Columbia,  J. 

C.  C.  Moss,  E.  C.  Turner;  Crawford,  R.  C.  Oliver,  M.  B.  West; 
Crittenden,  Henry  B.  Edmondson ;  Dallas,  James  M.  Lee ;  Desha, 
John  Patterson;  Drew,  William  D.  Trotter;  Franklin,  William 
M.  Mansfield;  Fulton,  James  Estis;  Hempstead,  D.  Griffin,  D. 
Block ;  Hot  Spring,  Lemuel  A.  ^ook ;  Independence,  D.  C.  Mont- 
gomery,  J.   W.   Butler,   M.   H.   Jackson ;   Izard,   Miles  Jeffrey ; 
Jackson,  A.  L.  Yancey ;  Jefferson,  Thomas  F.  James ;  Johnson, 
W.  M.  H.  Newton,  H.  G.  Wilson;  Lafayette,  Lewis  B.  Fort; 
Lawrence,  Lacy  S.  Bobo,  L.  Williams,  James  Childers ;  Madison, 

G.  W.  Forests,  J.  S.  Polk ;  Marion,  D.  C.  Williams ;  Mississippi, 
Thomas  M.  Harding;  Monroe,  Oliver  H.  Oates ;  Montgomery, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  65 

Henry  Heffington;  Newton,  Samuel  Hudson;  Ouachita,  N.  S. 
Graves;  S.  T.  Abbott;  Perry,  Levi  D.  Hill;  Phillips,  Francis  H. 
Moody;  Pike,  Elijah  Kelley;  Poinsett,  B.  Harris;  Polk,  Samuel 
Gray;  Pope,  W.  A  .Barker,  J.  S.  Bowden;  Prairie,  William  L. 
Moore;  Pulaski,  L.  Gibson,  S.  W.  Williams;  Randolph,  W.  R. 
Hunter;  Saline,  L.  H.  Bean;  Scott,  J.  F.  Lee;  Searcy,  Joseph 
Stephenson ;  Sebastian,  Samuel  Edmondson,  R.  H.  McConnell ; 
Sevier,  Charles  Pettigrew ;  St.  Francis,  J.  W.  Calvert,  Joseph  T. 
Harrison ;  Union,  Shelton  Watson,  Green  Newton,  D.  L.  Kil- 
Gore :  Van  Buren,  Gilbert  Cottrell ;  Washington,  John  Billings- 
ley,  Ben  F.  Boone,  William  T.  Neal ;  White,  Ben  Johnson ;  Yell, 
William  J.  Parks. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  3,  1856.  John  R. 
Hampton  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  D.  Kimbell, 
secretary.  Samuel  Mitchell  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Samuel 
M.  Scott,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  15,  1857. 

As  shown  by  his  message,  the  administration  of  Governor 
Conway  had  been  a  remarkable  financial  success.  There  was  not 
only  money  in  the  state  treasury,  but  a  very  considerable  part  of 
the  millions  of  dollars  owed  by  the  State  on  account  of  the  bonds 
issued  long  ago  for  the  State  and  Real  Estate  Banks  had 
also  been  paid,  as  a  result  of  Conway's  good  management.  On 
October  1,  1856,  as  the  Governor's  message  showed,  "there  re- 
mained in  the  state  treasury,  subject  to  be  used  for  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  the  Sate,  the  sum  of  $142,154.22,  in  gold  and  silver; 
and  that  all  the  Arkansas  treasury  warrants  ever  issued  had  been 
redeemed,  except  $198.00  not  presented  for  payment.  *  *  * 
During  the  two  years  ending  with  the  30th  of  September,  1856, 
there  were  cancelled  and  filed  with  the  state  treasurer  bonds  of 
this  State  which  had  been  issued  to  and  sold  by  the  'Bank  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas,'  amounting,  with  interest,  to  $333,146.28, 
and  370  bonds,  with  many  coupons  for  interest  on  such  bonds, 
which  had  been  issued  to  the  'Real  Estate  Bank  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,'  making  for  the  bonds  and  interest  $755,507.10;  show- 
ing that  $1,088,653.38  of  the  State  debt,  on  account  of  the  two 
banks,  were  cancelled  and  filed  (as  fully  paid  off)  during  the 
two  years  ending  with  the  30th  of  September,  1856." 

The  most  important  general  Acts  passed  in  1856  were:  An 
Act  providing  for  a  geological  survey;  another  authorizing  the 


66  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Governor  to  sell  the  executive  mansion  at  Little  Rock,  and 
another  granting  a  charter  to  the  Memphis  £  St.  Louis  Railroad 
Company. 

Twelfth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twelfth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
August  2,  1858.  By  1858  the  Democrats  were  the  only  organized 
political  party  in  Arkansas.  The  Democratic  candidates  of  that 
year,  who  had  opposition,  wer.e  opposed,  for  the  most  part,  by 
candidates  who  claimed  to  be  independent.  The  Know  Noth- 
ings, it  seems,  elected  only  three  or  four  members  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  and,  as  the  editor  of  the  True  Democrat  remarked, 
"in  each  case  by  a  scratch." 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  Thomas  Fletcher;  Benton  .and  Madison,  M. 
Douglass ;  Carroll  and  Newton,  W.  W.  Watkins ;  Chicot,  Drew 
and  Ashley,  R.  M.  Gaines ;  Clark,  Polk  and  Pike,  A.  A.  Penning- 
ton;  Conway,  Perry  and  Yell,  J.  I.  Stirman ;  Crawford  and 
Franklin,  J.  P.  Humphreys ;  Dallas  and  Bradley,  J.  R.  Hampton ; 
Hempstead,  Sevier  and  Lafayette,  A.  H.  Carrigan ;  Indepen- 
dence. J.  S.  Thimble ;  Johnson  and  Pope,  W.  W.  Floyd ;  Law- 
rence and  Fulton,  W.  15.  Marshall;  Marion  and  Searcy,  D.  C. 
Williams ;  Mississippi  and  Crittenden,  T.  B.  Craighead ;  Ouachita 
and  Calhoun,  J.  P>.  McCulloch ;  Phillips  and  Monroe,  F.  P.  Red- 
mond; Pulaski  and  Prairie,  Francis  A.  Terry;  Randolph  and 
Greene,  James  F.  Davis;  Saline,  Hot  Spring  and  Montgomery, 
W.  H.  Hammond ;  Sebastian  and  Scott,  G.  J.  Clark ;  St.  Francis 
and  Poinsett,  William  A.  Jones ;  Union  and  Columbia,  J.  H. 
Askew ;  Van  Buren  and  Izard,  S.  E.  Rosson  ;  Washington,  Byron 
H.  Smithson;  White  and  Jackson,  Decius  McCreary. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  Samuel 
Mitchell;  Benton,  R.  E.  Doak,  T.  Quarles ;  Bradley,  W.  Y.  Mc- 
Cammon;  Calhoun,  Willis  Robertson;  Carroll,  B.  Bunch,  C.  C. 
Gordon;  Chicot,  J.  M.  Batchelor ;  Clark,  H.  B.  Stewart,  A.  Weir; 
Columbia,  G.  Couch,  J.  C.  C.  Moss;  Crawford,  J.  J.  Green, 
S.  M.  Hayes;  Conway,  W.  W.  Edwards;  Crittenden,  Oliver  P._ 
Lyles;  Dallas,  Matthew  M.  O.  Duffie;  Desha,  J.  P.  Johnson; 
Drew,  C.  F.  Hemingway ;  Franklin,  DeRosa  Carroll;  Fulton,  John 
S.  Sraver;  Greene,  J.  S.  Anderson ;  Hempstead,  R.  K.  Garland,  D. 
Griffin ;  Hot  Spring,  Lemual  A.  Cook ;  Independence,  D.  Mont- 


A.NTD    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  67 

gomery,  Elisha  Baxter,  Andrew  J.  Ford;  Izard,  Miles  Jeffrey; 
Jackson,  G.  Hammond ;  Jefferson,  Jordan  N.  Embree ;  Johnson, 
S.  Farmer,  W.  M.  H.  Newton;  Lafayette,  Ethan  A.  Murphy; 
Lawrence,  J.  Childers,  L. -Williams,  P.  S.  Roberts;  Madison, 
B.  Vaughan,  T.  Bateman;  Marion,  J.  B.  Carlisle;  Mississippi, 
Thomas  B.  Craighead ;  Monroe,  Oliver  H.  Gates;  Montgomery, 
Henry  Heffington ;  Newton,  John  McCoy;  Ouachita,  S.  T. 
Abbott,  J.  B.  Thrower;  Perry,  Levin  D.  Hill;  Phillips,  Thomas  C. 
Anderson ;  Pike,  Gideon  Mason ;  Poinsett,  David  Fitzpatrick ; 
Polk,  Samuel  Gray;  Pope,  W.  A.  Barker,  David  West;  Prairie, 
Hamilton  Reynolds;  Pulaski,  J.  B.  Johnson,  William  Q.  Pen- 
nington;  Randolph,  Michael  Beshoar ;  Saline,  William  A.  Craw- 
ford; Scott,  John  H.  Forbett;  Sebastian,  R.  H.  McConnell,  B.  T. 
Duval ;  Searcy,  Israel  Burns ;  Sevier,  William  K.  McKean ;  St. 
Francis,  Poindexter  Dunn,  J.  C.  Johnson ;  Union,  D.  L.  Kilgore, 
Nathan  Bussey,  D.  P.  Saxon ;  Van  Buren,  L.  R.  Venable ;  Wash- 
ington, William  T.  Neal,  Thomas  Wilson,  Jeremiah  Brewster; 
White,  Bracey  McRea ;  Yell,  John  A.  Jacoway. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  1,  1858.  Thomas 
Fletcher  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  D.  Kimbell, 
secretary.  O.  H.  Gates  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Samuel  M. 
Scott,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  February  21,  1859. 

The  message  of  Governor  Conway  was  confined  almost 
entirely  to  a  discussion  of  the  financial  conditions  of  the  State. 
He  showed  that  $2,146,484.36  of  the  bonded  indebtedness  incur- 
red on  account  of  the  State  and  the  Real  Estate  Banks  had 
been  paid. 

Of  the  general  Acts  passed  by  the  General  Assembly  the  fol- 
lowing were  the  most  important :  An  Act  prohibiting  the  eman- 
cipation of  slaves,  and  another  incorporating  the  Arkansas  Insti- 
tute for  the  Blind.  (See  High  Lights.) 

William  K.  Sebastian  was  re-elected  to  the  United  States 
Senate  for  a  full  term,  beginning  March  4,  1859. 


68  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

HENRY  MASSIE  RECTOR 

GOVERNOR,  NOVEMBER  15,  1860 — NOVEMBER  4,  1862 

Henry  M.  Rector,  sixth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  May  1,  1816,  a  son  of  Elias 
and  Fannie  B.  (Thurston)  Rector.  Soon  after  his  birth  his 
parents  removed  to  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  where  Elias  Rector  died 
in  1822.  Subsequently  the  widow  married  Stephen  Trigg  and 
removed  to  Saline  county,  Missouri.  Here  Mr.  Trigg  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  salt.  From  trie  time  he  was  thirteen  until 
he  was  seventeen  years  of  age,  it  was  Henry's  task  to  haul  wood 
with  an  ox  team  to  the  salt  works.  During  this  time  he  had  no 
opportunity  to  attend  school,  but  his  mother,  who  was  an  edu- 
cated woman,  taught  him  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education. 

In  1833  his  Kentucky  relatives  sent  him  to  Francis  God- 
dard's  school  in  Louisville,  where  he  remained  as  a  student  for 
two  years  and  then  came  to  Arkansas  to  look  after  certain  lands, 
which  he,  as  the  only  surviving  child,  had  inherited  from  his 
father.  Some  of  the  land  in  question  was  part  of  what  is  now 
the  Hot  Springs  Reservation,  which  had  been  located  upon  a 
New  Madrid  certificate.  Many  years  were  spent  in  prosecuting 
this  claim  against  other  persons,  and  finally  against  the  United 
States  Government,  but  Rector  was  unsuccessful  in  his  efforts 
to  establish  title  to  his  claim. 

During  the  years  1839  and  1840  Rector  held  the  position  of 
teller  in  the  Bank  of  the  State  of  Arkansas.  In  1841  he  moved 
to  a  farm  in  Saline  county,  where  he  began  the  study  of  law. 
From  1843  to  1845  he  was  United  States  marshal  for  the  Dis- 
trict of  Arkansas.  He  was  then  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Little  Rock,  but  soon  returned 
to  Saline  county.  In  1848  he  was  elected  State  Senator  for  the 
district  composed  of  Perry  and  Saline  counties ;  was  surveyor- 
general  from  1853  to  1857 ;  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the 
Legislature  from  Pulaski  county  in  1854;  and  in  1859  was 
elected  Associate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  by  the  General 
Assembly. 

In  1860  he  resigned  his  position  on  the  Supreme  Bench  to 
become  an  independent  democratic  candidate  for  governor.  What 
was  known  at  that  time  as  the  "Con way- Johnson  Dynasty"  was 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  69 

thought  to  be  all-powerful  in  Arkansas  politics.  Rector,  how- 
ever, was  a  forcible  and  convincing  orator.  By  his  persuasive 
eloquence  and  his  appeal  to  the  common  sense  of  the  voters,  he 
overthrew  the  "dynasty"  and  was  elected  by  over  two  thousand 
majority.  There  was  then  a  paper  called  The  Independent  pub- 
lished at  Fayetteville  by  William  Quesenbury — ^popularly  known 
as  "Bill  Cush" — who  was  a  clever  cartoonist.  Immediately  after 
the  election  he  published  a  cartoon  entitled,  "Tom,  Dick  and 
Harry,"  in  which  Judge  Thomas  Hubbard,  the  Whig  candidate, 
was  represented  as  Old  Mother  Hubbard  examining  a  bare  cup- 
board ;  "Dick"  Johnson  was  seated  astride  a  whiskey  barrel, 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  his  supporters,  to  whom  he  was  ex- 
plaining how  it  all  happened ;  while  "Harry"  Rector,  represented 
as  a  rooster,  was  strutting  about  and  making  the  welkin  ring 
with  his  crowing. 

Professor  Shinn,  in  his  Pioneers  and  Makers  of  Arkansas, 
says :  "The  regular  Democrat,  smarting  under  their  defeat,  took 
an  undue  advantage  of  him  in  the  convention  of  1861.  That 
body,  while  providing  for  a  new  constitution  which  contained 
certain  offices  in  force,  intentionally  or  unintentionally  ommitted 
to  make  any  provision  whatever  for  the  governor's  office.  RecJ 
tor's  adherents  have  always  claimed  that  this  was  done  inten- 
tionally and  from  the  meager  records  which  have  come  down  to 
posterity,  it  is  entirely  safe  to  say  that  this  contention  of  Rector's 
friends  was  true.  At  all  events,  it  was  claimed  that,  as  the  con- 
stitution did  not  provide  for  the  continuance  of  the  governor,  a 
vacancy  existed,  which  contention  was  upheld  by  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  served  as  governor  from  November  15,  1860,  until 
November  4,  1862." 

Upon  retiring  from  the  governor's  office,  Mr.  Rector  enlisted 
as  a  private  in  the  Confederate  Reserve  Corps  (refusing  an  ap- 
appointment  as  quartermaster)  and  served  until  the  close  of  the 
war.  For  several  years  after  the  war  he  was  engaged  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  in  Garland  county.  He  was  delegate  from  that 
county  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  1874  and  wielded  a 
powerful  influence  in  framing  the  new  organic  law  of  Arkansas. 
He  died  at  his  home  in  the  city  of  Little  Rock  on  August 
12,  1899. 

Governor  Rector  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  to  whom 
he  was  united  in  October,  1838,  was  Miss  Jane  Elizabeth, 


70  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

daughter  of  William  Field,  of  Little  Rock.  She  died  on  Novem- 
ber 20,  1857,  leaving  four  sons  and  three  daughters,  and  in  1860 
he  married  Miss  Ernestine  Flora  Linde,  daughter  of  Albert  Linde, 
of  Memphis,  Tennessee.  One  daughter  was  born  to  the  second 
marriage. 

Thirteenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirteenth  General  Assembly  were  elected. 
August  6,  1860.  With  the  exception  of  two  or  three  "old  line" 
Whigs,  the  membership  of  both  houses  was  solidly  Democratic. 
That  a  large  majority  of  the  members  of  both  house  and  senate' 
belonged  to  the  so-called  pro-slavery  wing  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  supported  Breckenridge  for  president  in  1860  is  cer- 
tain, though  it  is  perhaps  not  possible  to  say  by  just  how  many 
they  were  in  a  majority. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  Thomas  Fletcher;  Benton  and  Madison,  M.  Doug- 
las; Carroll  and  Newton,  \V.  W.  \Yatkins ;  Chicot,  Drew  and 
Ashley,  L.  H.  Belser ;  Clark,  Polk  and  Pike,  A.  A.  Pennington  ; 
Conway,  Perry  and  Yell,  G.  W.  Lemoyne ;  Crawford  and  Frank- 
Jesse  Miller;  Dallas  and  Bradley,  Joseph  Gray;  Hempstead, 
Sevier  and  Lafayette,  A.  H.  Carrigan ;  Hot  Spring,  Montgomery 
and  Saline,  J.  F.  Fagan  ;  Independence,  J.  S.  Trimble;  Izard  and 
Van  Buren,  S.  E.  Rosson  ;  Johnson  and  Pope,  A.  M.  Ward;  Law- 
rence and  Fulton,  Z.  P.  McAlexander ;  Marion  and  Searcy,  W.  C. 
Mitchell ;  Mississippi  and  Crittenden,  Thomas  B.  Craighead ; 
Ouachita  and  Callionn,  J.  B.  McCulloch  ;  Phillips  and  Monroe, 
O.  H.  Gates;  Pulaski  and  Prairie,  F.  A.  Terry;  Randolph  and 
Greene,  J.  F.  Davies ;  Scott  and  Sebastian,  G.  J.  Clark ;  St.  Fran- 
cis and  Poinsett,  W.  A.  Jones ;  Union  and  Columbia,  J.  H.  Askew ; 
Washington,  R.  W.  Mecklin ;  White  and  Jackson,  D.  McCrery. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  John  T. 
Gibson ;  Ashley,  Robert  Tucker ;  Benton,  J.  Dunnigin,  J.  P.  Put- 
nam ;  Bradley,  A.  McLean ;  Calhoun,  Elam  Williams ;  Carroll, 
B.  Hunch,  J.  Childers ;  Chicot,  Bat  Jones;  Clark,  Charles  Car- 
gile;  Columbia,  D.  L.  Kilgore,  A.  C.  Wheeler;  Conway,  Robert 

N.  Harper;  Craighead, .....;  Crawford, 

J.  M.  Brown.  Andrew  Morton:  Crittenden,  B.  L.  Armstrong;  Dal- 
las, Edward  M.  Harris;  Desha,  James  P.  Clayton;  Drew,  W.  M. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  71 

Harrison,  C.  F.  Hemingway ;  Franklin,  John  P.  Humphreys ; 
Fulton,  J.  W.  Ware;  Greene,  L.  L.  Mack;  Hempstead,  R.  -K. 
Garland,  O.  Jennings;  Hot  Spring,  James  M.  Sanders;  Indepen- 
dence, J.  F.  Saffold,  W.  B.  Padgett,  W.  B.  Massey ;  Izard, 
Thomas  W.  Edmondsdn ;  Jackson,  W.  H.  Stone ;  Jefferson,  F.  F. 
Yell,  James  H.  Hudson  ;  Johnson,  J.  E.  Cravens,  L.  Robinson ; 
Lafayette,  Robert  P.  Crowell ;  Lawrence,  W.  Ferguson,  W. 
Sharp ;  Madison,  J.  C.  Montgomery,  S.  E.  Kinner ;  Marion,  E.  H. 
Messeck;  Mississippi,  John  R.  Acree ;  Monroe,  Z.  P.  H.  Farr; 
Montgomery,  D.  A.  Woolard ;  Newton,  Thomas  Raines ; 
Ouachita,  Carnal  H.  Thorn  ;  Perry,  F.  R.  Janes ;  Phillips,  J.  C.  O. 
Smith,  Thomas  J.  Key;  Pike,  Willis  Jones;  Poinsett,  Philip  Van 
Patten;  Polk,  Peter  B.  Allen;  Pope,  J.  S.  Bowden;  Prairie,  John 
C.  Davis;  Pulaski,  John  T.  Trigg;  W.  Q.  Pennington ;  Randolph, 
James  H.  Perkins ;  Saline,  Robert  Murphy ;  Scott,  James  F.  Lee ; 
Searcy,  B.  F.  Stephensbn ;  Sebastian,  John  T.  Loudon,  B.  T. 
DuVal ;  Sevier,  A.  T.  Pettus,  W.  D.  S.  Cook ;  St.  Francis,  G.  W. 
Seaborn/  J.  W.  Landrum ;  Union,  D.  R.  Coulter,  T.  F.  Nolen ; 
Van  Buren,  J.  B.  Lewis ;  Washington,  John  Crawford,  B.  F. 
Boone,  J.  Mitchell,  L.  M.  Bell;  Yell,  John  H.  Jones. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  5,  1860.  Thomas 
Fletcher  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  D.  Kimbell, 
secretary.  Bradley  Bunch  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Samuel- M. 
Scott,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  January  21,  1861. 

On  December  20th  the  two  houses  met  in  joint  session  to 
elect  a  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  Robert  W.  Johnson, 
whose  term  was  to  terminate  on  March  4,  1861.  Charles  B. 
Mitchel,  of  Hempstead  county,  George  C.  Watkins  and  Samuel 
H.  Henlpstead,  of  Pulaski  county,  were  placed  in  nomination. 
Mitchel  was  elected  on  the  ninth  ballot,  receiving  fifty-two  votes 
to  twenty-six  for  Hempstead  and  eight  for  Watkins. 

Of  the  Acts  passed  at  this  session,  that  most  far-reaching  in 
its  results  was  the  one  relating  to  a  state  convention,  the  prin- 
cipal provisions  of  which  were  as  follows : 

"Section  1.  That  the  governor  shall  issue  his  proclamation, 
ordering  an  election  in  all  the  counties  in  this  state,  submitting 
to  the  people  the  question  of  'convention1  or  'no  convention/  to 
be  held  on  the  18th  day  of  February,  1861,  which  election  shall 
be  conducted  as  state  elections  are  now  conducted. 


72  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

"Section  2.  That,  at  said  election,  the  people  shall  also  vote 
for  a  delegate  or  delegates  to  said  convention,  and  each  delegate 
elected  shall  be  made  a  special  returning  officer  and  shall  bring  up 
the  certified  vote  of  his  county  on  the  question  of  convention  or 
no  convention,  which  vote  from  all  the  counties  shall  be  opened 
by  the  governor,  auditor,  treasurer  and  scretary  of  state,  or  any 
three  of  them,  on  the  2nd  day  of  March,  1861 ;  and  if  ,on  count- 
ing the  vote  of  all  the  counties  of  this  state,  it  shall  appear  that 
'a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  are  for  a  convention,  then  the 
governor  shall  immediately  issne  his  proclamation,  requiring  the 
delegates  elected  as  aforesaid  to  convene  in  the  capitol  on  the 
following  Monday  and  organize  themselves  into  a  state  conven- 
tion, etc. 

"Section  8.  That  upon  the  organization  of  said  convention, 
it  shall  take  into  consideration  the  condition  of  political  affairs, 
and  determine  what  course  the  State  of  Arkansas  shall  take  in 
the  present  political  crisis." 

This  Act  was  approved  by  (iovernor  Rector  on  January  15, 
ISM,  and  on  the  next  day  he  issued  his  proclamation  to  the  sev- 
eral county  sheriffs  ordering  the  election  for  Monday,  February 
18th.  (See  High  Lights.) 

The  thirteenth  General  Assembly  held  two  special  sessions. 
The  first  lasted  from  November  4  until  November  18,  1861.  The 
Acts  passed,  of  whiih  the  following  were  the  most  important, 
dealt  with  developments  relating  to  the  war.  There  were  Acts 
passed  to  abolish  certain  offices  of  the  state  government;  to 
confer  certain  additional  powers  upon  the  counties  for  the  period 
of  the  war ;  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the  war  tax  imposed 
by  the  Confederate  Congress;  to  repeal  the  ordinance  of  the 
secession  convention  authorizing  a  tax  levy  for  military  pur- 
poses ;  to  facilitate  the  circulation  of  Arkansas  war  bonds  and 
-treasury  warrants,  and  to  provide  relief  for  sick  and  disabled 
Arkansas  volunteers. 

At  the  second  special  session  of  the  thirteenth  General  Assem- 
bly, which  lasted  from  March  17  until  March  22,  1862,  more 
war  measures  were  passed.  There  was  an  Act  prohibiting  the 
distillation  of  grain  into  spirituous  liquors ;  an  Act  prohibit- 
ing the  further  sale  of  the  public  lands  until  after  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  pledging  those  lands  as  securities  for  the  redemp- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  73 

tion  of  the  state  war  bonds  and  the  payment  of  treasury  war- 
rants ;  an  Act  providing  relief  for  needy  families  of  volunteers, 
and  an  Act  to  define  and  punish  sedition.  Under  this  latter  Act 
any  person  who  discouraged  the  enlistment  of  volunteers  either 
in  the  State  or  Confederate  services  was  declared  guilty  of  high 
misdemeanor  and  liable  to  imprisonment  of  a  term  of  not  less 
than  three  nor  more  than  five  years. 


74  ^  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

HARRIS  FLAN  AGIN 

At  the  election  in  August,  1860,  Henry  M.  Rector  was  elected 
governor  for  a  term  of  four  years.  His  term  of  office,  how- 
ever, was  cut  short  by  the  action  of  the  Arkansas  secession  con- 
vention, which  convention,  in  June,  1861,  adopted  a  new  state 
constitution  whereby  provision  was  made  that  "The  next  gen- 
eral election  for  officers  of  this  state,  under  this  constitution,  not 
otherwise  herein  provided  for,  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Monday 
in  October,  A.  D.  1862,  in  the  manner  now  prescribed  by  law." 
It  was  this  clause  in  the  new  constitution  which  cut  short  by  two 
years  the  term  for  which  he  had  been  elected  in  1860.  Though 
his  term  did  not  expire  until  November  15,  1862,  Rector  re- 
signed on  November  4,  1862,  and  was  succeeded  by  Thomas 
Fletcher,  who,  by  virtue  of  his  office  as  president  of  the  senate, 
became  acting  governor.  Fletcher  served  from  November  4  until 
November  15,  1862,  when  Harris  Flanagin,  the  newly  elected 
governor,  was  inaugurated. 

Harris  Flanagin,  seventh  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  at  Roadstown,  New  Jersey,  November  3,  1817.  He 
received  his  literary  education  in  the  Quaker  schools  of  his  native 
state  and  when  about  eighteen  years  old  he  went  to  Clermont, 
Pennsylvania,  as  an  assistant  teacher  in  a  seminary.  A  few 
years  later  he  went  to  Illinois  and  established  a  private  school  of 
his  own.  Later  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  and  in  1838  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  Early  the  following  year  he  came  to  Arkan- 
sas and  located  at  Greenville,  then  the  county  seat  of  Clark 
county,  where  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1842 
he  was  elected  one  of  the  representatives  from  Clark  county  to 
the  General  Assembly  and  in  1861  he  was  the  delegate  from  Clark 
county  to  the  Arkansas  secession  convention. 

When  the  county  seat  of  Clark  county  was  removed  to  Arka- 
delphia,  in  1842,  Mr.  Flanagin  became  a  resident  of  that  place. 
It  is  said  that  his  nomination  for  governor  was  not  known  to 
him  until  the  day  before  his  election,  when  he  received  the  infor- 
mation while  in  command  of  an  Arkansas  Confederate  regiment 
at  Knoxville,  Tennessee.  He  returned  at  once  to  Arkansas,  arriv- 
ing in  time  to  be  inaugurated  on  the  15th  of  November.  After 
the  war  he  resumd  the  practice  of  law  at  Arkadelphia.  In  1874 
he  was  one  of  the  delegates  who  represented  Clark  county  in 


•AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORV  75 

the  constitutional  convention  of  that  year.  .  This  was  his  last 
public  service.  He  died  October  23,  1874,  before  the  constitu- 
tion he  had  helped  to  frame  went  into  effect. 

On  July  3,  1851,  Governor  Flanagin  married  Miss  Martha  E. 
Nash,  daughter  of  Phineas  Nash,  of  Hempstead  county.  Two. 
sons  and  a  daughter — Duncan,  Nash  and  Laura — were  born  of 
this  union. 

Fourteenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  fourteenth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
October  6,  1866.  The  state  election,  which,  for  some  years  past, 
had  been  held  the  first  Monday  in  August,  was  changed  by  the 
secession  convention  in  June,  1861,  to  the  first  Monday  in  Octo- 
ber, which,  in  1862,  was  October  6.  Between  the  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  elected  in  1862  there  were  no  national 
^arty  divisions.  '  All  were  avowed  supporters  of  secession  and 
the  war  of  the  South  for  independence. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  Thomas  Fletcher ;  Benton  county,  J.  Dungan ; 
Bradley  and  Dallas,  J.  R.  Hampton;  Calhoun  and  Ouachita, 
E.  H.  Whitfield;  Carroll  and  Newton,  Bradley  Bunch;  Chicot, 
Drew  and  Ashley,  L.  H.  Belser;  Clark,  Pike  and  Polk,  I.  W. 
Smith ;  Crawford  and  Franklin,  H.  F.  Carter ;  Greene,  Ran- 
dolph and  Craighead,  J.  M.  Pollard ;  Hempstead,  Lafayette  and 
Sevier,  B.  Williams ;  Hot  Spring,  Montgomery  and  Saline,  F. 
Leach ;  Independence,  J.  S.  Trimble ;  Izard  and  Van  Buren, 
\Yilliam  Sherman  ;  Johnson  and  Pope,  Ben  T.  Embry ;  Lawrence 
and  Fulton,  S.  Halliburton ;  Marion  and  Searcy,  Eli  Dodson ; 
Mississippi  and  Crittenden,  ;  Phillips  and  Mon- 
roe,  ;  Poinsett  and  St.  Francis,  P.  Van  Patten; 

Prairie  and  Pulaski,  Joseph  Stillwell ;  Sebastian  and  Scott,  G.  J. 
Clark  ;  Union  and  Columbia,  J.  C.  Wallace ;  Washington,  Hiram 
Davis ;  White  and  Jackson,  Robert  Anthony. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  S.  R. 
Richardson ;  Ashley,  Robert  Tucker ;  Benton,  J.  H.  Hammock. 
W.  B.  Fain;  Bradley,  J.  R.  Collins;  Calhoun,  B.  T.  Teague ; 
Carroll,  I.  R.  Holt,  A.  A.  Baker;  Chicot,  J.  M.  Lowry ;  Clark, 
S.  M.  Scott ;  Columbia,  C.  A.  Gant,  T  .A.  Goodwin ;  Conway, 
Russell  Welborn ;  Craighead,  S.  Stodlard ;  Crawford,  J.  Har- 


76  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

reli,  R.  C.  Oliver;  Crittenden,  ...._ ;  Dallas,  E.  M. 

Harris;  Desha,  Alex  Harding;  Drew,  B.  Collins,  E.  H.  Haynes ; 
Franklin,  A.  L.  Berry;  Fulton,  S.  W.  Cochran ;  Greene,  Samuel 
Wilcoxson;  Hempstead,  John  R.  Robins,  M.  V.  Cheatham ;  Hot 
Spring,  E.  C.  Jones ;  Independence,  S.  B.  Wycough,  W.  D.  Jen- 
kins, J.  B.  Porter;  Izard,  R.  H.  Powell;  Jackson,  Rufus  \V. 
Martin;  Jefferson,  W.  Williams,  N.  B.  English;  Johnson,  L.  B. 
Howell,  W.  H.  Connelly;  Lafayette,  A.  M.  McCullom;  Law- 
rence, T.  J.  Warner,  G.  R.  Jones ;  Madjson,  J.  R.  Perry,  R.  F. 
Naylor;  Marion,  J.  E.  Hull;  Mississippi,  ;  Mon- 
roe,   ;  Montgomery,  C.  G.  Hurt ;  Newton,  Rob- 
ert W.  Harrison ;  Ouachita,  Henry  R.  Farr ;  Perry,  William  Wil- 
son;  Pike,  W.  B.  Gould;  Phillips, ;  Poinsett, 

A.  M.  Winn;  Polk,  J.  B.  Williamson;  Pope,  John  McFadden; 
Prairie,  I>.  M.  Hames ;  Pulaski,  W.  Q.  Pennington  and  Thomas 
Fletcher;  Randolph,  J.  H.  Purkins ;  Saline,  Robert  Murphy, 
Scott,  Lijah  Leming;  Searcy,  John  Bradshaw  ;  Sebastian,  J.  Car-t 
nail,  C.  B.  Neal ;  St.  Francis,  J.  T.  Haralson,  Ed  Mallory;  Sevier, 
A.  T.  Pettus,  G.  Pettigrew ;  Union,  R.  Goodwin,  T.  R.  Williams; 
Van  Buren,  John  L.  Lafferty ;  Washington,  E.  H.  Phillips,  J.  M. 
Tuttle,  R.  C.  Byrd,  C.  R.  Fenton ;  White,  Thomas  Mosley ;  Yell, 
William  Sissell. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  3,  1862.  Thomas 
Fletcher  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  J.  D.  Kimbell,  sec- 
retary. John  Harrell  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Alden  M.  Wood- 
ruff, clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  December  1,  1862. 

Of  the  general  Act  passed  the  following  were  the  most  im- 
portant :  An  Act  to  prevent  giving  aid  to  the  enemy ;  an  Act 
to  vest  in  the  state  the  title  to  lands  granted  by  United  States 
to  the  Cairo  &  Fulton  Railroad  Company;  another  to  prohibit 
the  further  issue  of  interest  bearing  war  bonds  and  treasury  war- 
rants ;  and  another  to  encourage  the  manufacture  of  iron,  salt 
and  cotton  card.  Acts  were  also  passed  for  the  relief  of  dis- 
abled solders  and  for  the  families  of  volunteers. 

Since  the  City  of  Little  Rock  was  threatened  with, capture  by 
Federal  forces,  the  governor  was  authorized  by  resolution  of 
the  General  Assembly  to  move  the  seat  of  government  and  all 
property  belonging  thereto,  to  a  place  of  safety,  not  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  state,  whenever  he  deemed  it  advisable,  and  the 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  77 

judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  were  instructed  to  move  the  library 
and  all  books  and  papers  to,  and  hold  their  sessions,  at  such 
temporary  seat  of  government.  (See  High  Lights.) 

The  members  of  this  General  Assembly  held  a  special  ses- 
sion at  Washington,  Arkansas ;  which  session  lasted  from  Sep- 
tember 22  until  October  2,  1864.  In  September,  1863,  when 
Little  Rock  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals,  upon  the  order 
of  Governor  Flanagin,  the  capital  was  removed  to  Washington, 
which  was  well  within  the  Confederate  lines.  Accordingly,  when 
it  became  necessary  to  hold  a  special  session  of  the  General 
Assembly,  the  governor  convened  the  members  at  Washington. 
At  this  special  session,  which  is  sometimes  called  the  "Confed- 
erate Legislature,"  the  most  significant  of  the  general  Acts 
passed  were:  An  Act  providing  for  the  preservation  of  the 
archives  of  the  state;  to  prohibit  the  governor  from  removing 
public  property  from  the  state ;  to  provide  for  the  holding  of  elec- 
tions for  members  of  the  General  Assembly  and  prosecuting 
attorneys  in  the  counties  and  districts  in  the  hands  of  the  Fed- 
erals ;  to  change  the  time  of  holding  the  next  session  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  to  the  first  Monday  in  October,  1865,  unless 
sooner  called  together  by  the  governor;  to  establish  soldiers' 
homes  at  Washington,  Camden  and  Monticello  and  appropriat- 
ing $5,000,000  for  the  support  of  the  home,  said  appropriation  to 
become  available  whenever  private  subscriptions  or  contributions 
amounted  to  $2,000.00  in  Confederate  currency ;  to  appropriate 
$200,000.00,  or  so  much  thereof  as  might  be  necessary  for  indi- 
gent families  of  soldiers,  and  to  supply  the  families  of  soldiers 
with  salt ;  to  pay  interest  on  the  treasury  warrants  and  provide 
for  their  redemption ;  to  appropriate  $35,000.00  to  provide  cot- 
ton and  wool  cards  and  medicines  for  the  families  of  soldiers, 
and  appropriating  $1,000,000.00  for  the  purchase  of  machinery 
for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods. 


78  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

ISAAC  MURPHY 

GOVERNOR,  APRIL  18,  1864— JULY  2,  1868 

Isaac  Murphy,  the  eighth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  near  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  October  16,  1799.  His 
father,  Hugh  Murphy,  was  a  manufacturer  of  paper.  Isaac 
received  a  fair  academic  education  and  in  1829  or  1830  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Angelina  Lockhart,  and  in  November,  1834,  removed 
to  Arkansas,  locating  at  Fayetteville.  By  1840  he  was  one  of 
the  best  known  teachers  in  Northwestern  Arkansas,  and  while 
engaged  in  teaching  he  began  the  study  of  law. 

In  1849  he  went  to  California,  but  instead  of  being  one  of 
the  few  who  "struck  it  rich,"  he  was  one  of  the  many  who  re- 
turned poorer  than  when  he  started.  He  located  with  his  family 
at  Huntsville,  Arkansas,  in  1854,  and  again  took  up  teaching. 
In  1856  he  was  elected  state  senator  from  the  district  composed 
of  Henton  and  Madison  counties,  and  in  1861  he  was  chosen"  a 
delegate  from  Madison  county  to  the  state  convention.  He  was 
the  only  delegate  in  that  convention  who  went  on  record  as 
opposed  to  secession.  His  lone  negative  vote  gave  some  dis- 
satisfaction to  the  people  of  his  county.  This  opposition  in- 
creased until  he  feared  for  his  life,  and  in  April,  1862,  with  his 
two  neighbors,  who  were  Union  sympathizers,  he  left  Arkan- 
sas. He  then  joined  the  Federal  Forces  commanded  by  General 
Samuel  R.  Curtis  in  Missouri.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  General  Curtis'  staff.  Later,  and  during  the  time  that 
General  Frederick  Steele  held  Little  Rock,  Murphy  was  an  officer 
under  Steele. 

He  was  declared  the  provisional  governor  of  Arkansas  by 
the  constitutional  convention  of  1864,  and  in  March  was  elected. 
He  was  inaugurated  on  April  18,  1864,  and  held  the  office  a  little 
more  than  four  years.  While  not  a  man  of  exceptional  bril- 
liancy of  intellect,  he  was  conscientious  and  managed  the  affairs 
of  the  state  wisely  and  frugally.  All  the  expenses  of  his  admin- 
istration were  paid  and  he  left  in  the  treasury  $270,000.00  in 
United  States  currency. 

After  the  war  he  continued  to  reside  at  Huntsville  until  his 
death  on  September  8,  1882.  His  wife  had  died  some  years 
before.  He  left  three  daughters — Mrs.  James  R.  Berry,  Mrs. 
H.  C.  Lowe  and  Mrs.  F.  M.  Thorpe.  Some  years  after  his 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  79 

death  his  granddaughter,  Mrs.  Flora  B.  Cameron,  of  Waco, 
Texas,  erected  a  marble  stone  over  his  grave,  bearing  the  fol- 
lowing epitaph :  "Isaac  Murphy,  born  October  16,  1799,  died 
September  8,  1882.  Eighth  governor  of  Arkansas.  His  admin- 
istration was  wise  and  economical.  His  trust  was  in  God." 

Fifteenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  fifteenth  General  Assembly  were  chosen  at 
an  election  held  on  three  consecutive  days,  March  14,  15  and  16, 
1864.  On  the  same  days,  the  state  constitution  of  1864  was  also 
ratified.  (See  High  Lights.)  This  General  Assembly  was  part 
of  the  ''provisional"  Murphy  government,  as  organized  under 
the  constitution  of  1864  and  according  to  the  plan  proposed  by 
President  Lincoln  for  the  reconstruction  of"  the  seceded  states. 
Thus  the  members  were  all  Union  men.  And  since  only  a  part 
of  Arkansas — roughly,  that  part  of  the  state  north  of  the  Arkan- 
sas river — had  been,  at  that  time,  overrun  by  the  Union  army, 
there  were  many  southern  counties  not  legally  represented.  And 
a  few  there  were  which  no  one  pretended  to  represent  in  the 
fifteenth  General  Assembly. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  Arkansas,  Jefferson  and 
Desha  counties,  I.  C.  Mills;  Carroll  and  Newton,  J.  McCoy; 
Chicot,  Drew  and  Ashley,  W.  C.  Valandingham ;  Clark,  Pike 
and  Pope,  L.  D.  Cantrell ;  Conway,  Perry  and  Yell,  F.  M.  Strat- 
ton;  Dallas  and  Bradley,  R.  H.  Syanfield;  Franklin  and  Craw- 
ford, L.  C.  White ;  Fulton  and  Lawrence,  J.  J.  Ware ;  Indepen- 
dence, E.  D.  Rushing;  Johnson  and  Pope,  \Villiam  Stout;  Hemp- 
stead,  Sevier  and  Lafayette,  F.  W.  Gilpin ;  Hot  Spring,  Saline 
and  Montgomery,  E.  H.  Vance;  Madison  and  Benton,  E.  D. 
Ham ;  Marion  and  Searcy,  Thomas  Jefferson ;  Mississippi  and 
Crittenden,  T.  Lamberton ;  Ouachita  and  Calhoun,  W."  H.  Har- 
per ;  Phillips  and  Monroe,  J.  Q.  Taylor ;  Pulaski  and  Perry,  Tru- 
man Wrarner;  Randolph  and  Green,  J.  M.  Lemons;  Scott  and 
Sebastian,  Charles  Milor ;  St.  Francis  and  Poinsett,  A.  B.  Fryear ; 
Van  Buren  and  Izard,  King  Bradford;  Washington,  J.  M.  Gil- 
strap  ;  White  and  Jackson,  James  Nanny. 

The  members  of  the  house  were :     Arkansas  county,  G.  C. 

Cressen ;  Ashley, _ ;  Benton,  R.  H.  Whim- 

pey,  J.  Shortiss ;  Bradley,  W.  W.  Scarborough ;  Calhoun,  A.  E. 


80  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Ackerman ;  Carroll,  J.  W.  Plumley,  J.  F.  Seamon ;  Chicot, ; 

Clark,  G.  N.  Green ;  Columbia, ;  Conway,  G.  W.  Gallo 

way;    Crawford,    J.    Austin,    J.     G.     Stephenson;    Craighead, 

_ ;  Crittenden,  F.  Thruesby;  Dallas,  James 

Kennedy;  Desha,  ;  Drew,  William  Cox, 

F.  H.  Boyd;  Franklin,  F.  M.  Nixon;  Fulton,  Simpson  Mason; 
Hempstead,  J.  Boen,  L.  Worthington;  Hot  Spring,  James  Whit- 
ten;  Independence,   P.  Misener,  J.   Clem,  Alex  Harper;   Izard, 
J.  B.  Brown;  Jackson,  H.  T.  McLarue ;  Jefferson,  H.  B.  Allis, 
D.  C,  Hardeman ;  Johnson,  J.  Rogers,  A.  P.  Melson ;  Lafayette, 
J.  C.  Hall ;  Lawrence,  R.  Shell,  E.  Sharp ;  Madison,  T.  H.  Scott, 

G.  W.  Seamans;  Marion,  J.  W.  Orr;  Mississippi, ; 

Monroe,  E.  Wilds ;  Montgomery,  J.  C.  Priddy ;  Newton,  James 
R.  Yanderpool ;  Ouachita,  G.  W.  Neill ;  Perry,  George  A.  Cun- 
ningham;  Phillips,  J.  A.  Butler,  J.  F.  Hanks;  Pike,  M.  Stinnette; 

Poinsett,  ;  Polk,  John  Ware;  Pope,  Robert 

White;  Prairie,  J.  B.  Claiborne ;  Pulaski,  O.  P.   Snyder,  S.  L. 

Holman ;  Randolph,  _ ;  Saline,  Warren  Holli- 

man ;  Scott,  Thomas  Cauthron ;  Searcy,  James  J.  Barnes;  Sebas- 
tian; J.  R.  Smooth,  J.  Snyder;  Sevier,  J.  Gilcoat,  A.  Musgrove; 

St.  Francis,  R.  A.  Moore,  C.  S.  Still;  Union, ; 

Washington,  J.  Pierson,  W.  H.  Nott,  Y.  D.  Waddle,  William  J. 
Patton;  White,   John   F.   Randall;   Van   Buren,  L.   M.   Harris; 
Yell,  Bert  Johnson. 

They  met  in  regular  session  April  11,  1864.  C.  C.  Bliss  was 
elected  president  of  the  senate ;  A.  N.  Hargrove,  secretary. 
Horace  G.  Allis  was  speaker  of  the  house;  F.  M.  Sams  (later 
W.  A.  Counts),  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  June  2,  1864. 

The  devising  of  means  for  financing  the  state  government 
was  perhaps  the  most  difficult  problem  with  which  this  General 
Assembly  attempted  to  deal.  In  his  inaugural  message  Governor 
Murphy  said: 

"The  state  has  not  a  dollar  in  her  treasury.  The  members 
of  the  convention  received  no  pay ;  the  officers  of  the  provisional 
government  are  in  the  same  condition.  The  convention  author- 
ized me  to  borrow,  for  the  use  of  the  state  government,  $150,000. 
I  have  made  no  effort  to  effect  that  very  desirable  object.  Some 
system  of  finance  must  speedily  be  adopted,  one  that  will  give 
confidence  to  the  capitalist,  before-  we  can  hope  successfully  to 


AND   LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  81 

negotiate  a  loan  on  favorable  terms.     This  I  feel  confident  can 
be  done." 

Sweeping  changes  were  made  in  the  revenue  laws.  Pleasure 
carriages,  capital  invested  in  tanyards,  distilleries  and  other 
industries,  gold  watches  and  all  kinds  of  jewelry  were  heavily 
taxed,  and  a  tax  was  levied  upon  all  incomes  over  six  hundred 
dollars.  Other  Acts  of  the  session  were:  To  regulate  the  cur- 
rency ;  to  raise  a  military  force  for  the  defense  of  Arkansas ;  to 
suspend  sales  by  sheriffs  and  constables  for  the  collection  of 
debts ;  the  general  appropriation  Act,  and  the  election  laws  were 
amended.  The  Act  of  Congress,  approved  by  President  Lincoln 
on  August  2,  1862,  donating  public  lands  to  the  state  for  the 
.establishment  of  agricultural  and  mechanical  colleges  was  ac- 
cepted. 

Two  special  sessions  of  this  Legislature  were  held,  with  the 
same  presiding  officers.  The  first  of  these  was  convened  on 
November  7,  1864,  and  lasted  until 'January  2,  1865.  Many  of 
the  Acts  passed  were  unimportant.  The  revenue  laws  were 
amended ;  public  expenditures  were  curtailed ;  and  several  Acts 
were  passed  for  the  purpose  of  providing  means  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  state  government.  The  second  special  session  met 
on  April  3,  1865.  It  was  called  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  ratify- 
ing the  thirteenth  amendment  to  the  Federal  Constitution  abol- 
ishing slavery.  The  Act  of  ratification  was  approved  by  Gov- 
ernor Murphy  on  April  20,  1865,  and  the  General  Assembly 
adjourned  on  the  22nd. 

Sixteenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  sixteenth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
August  6,  1866.  Under  the  Amnesty  Proclamation  of  President 
Andrew  Johnson,  of  May  29,  1865,  most  of  the  Arkansas  ex- 
Confederates  and  southern  sympathizers  during  the  war  had 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States.  Thus  they 
were  restored  to  all  the  rights  of  full  citizenship.  Accordingly, 
the  late  Confederates  elected  in  1866  practically  the  whole  mem- 
bership of  the  General  Assembly.  A  roster  of  the  two  houses  re- 
veals the  names  of  not  a  few  men  who  had  sat  in  sessions  of  the 
General  Assembly  before  and  during  the  war. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:    First  District  (Benton  and 


£2  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Madison),  J.  Dunigan ;  Second  (Carroll  and  Newton),  W.  \V. 
Watkins;  Third  (Washington),  F.  R.  Earle ;  Fourth  (Crawford 
and  Franklin),  Jesse  Turner;  Fifth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  H.  L. 
Holliman;  Sixth  (Johnson  and  Pope),  J.  E.  Cravens;  Seventh 
(Perry,  Yell  and  Conway),  S.  Forrest;  Eighth  (Marion  and 
Searcy),  B.  Dotson;  Ninth  (Izard  and  Van  Buren),  A.  R.  Witt; 
Tenth  (Independence),  L.  H.  Sims;  Eleventh  (Lawrence  and 
Fulton),  J.  E.  Thompson;  Twelfth  (Greene  and  Randolph), 
J.  H.  Purkins;  Thirteenth  (Poinsett  and  St.  Francis),  C.  L.  Sul- 
livan; Fourteenth  (Mississippi  and  Crittenden),  O.  P.  Lyles; 
Fifteenth  (Phillips  and  Monroe),  H.  M.  Grant;  Sixteenth  (Prai- 
rie and  Pulaski),  R.  S.  Gantt ;  Seventeenth  (White  and  Jack- 
son), William  Hicks;  Eighteenth  (Jefferson,  Arkansas  and 
Desha),  W.  M.  Galloway;  Nineteenth  (Chicot,  Drew  and  Ash- 
ley), D.  H.  Reynolds;  Twentieth  (Bradley  and  Dallas),  A.  Hun- 
ter; Twenty-first  (Union  and  Columbia),  M.  H.  Roberts; 
Twenty-second  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  John  R.  Fellows; 
Twenty-third  (Hempstead,  Lafayette  and  Sevier),  A.  B. 
Williams;  Twenty-fourth  (Clark,  Pike  and  Polk),  A.  A.  Pen- 
nington;  Twenty-fifth  (Hot  Spring,  Montgomery  and  Saline), 
J.  M.  Smith. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  E.  G. 
Abbott;  Ashley,  J.  H.  Johnson;  Benton,  William  E.  Gould; 
W.  W.  Reynolds ;  Bradley,  Theodoric  F.  Sorrels ;  Calhoun,  Met 
L.  Jones;  Carroll,  Bradley  Bunch,  J.  H.  Berry;  Conway,  J.  W. 
Duncan ;  Chicot,  William  A.  Daniels ;  Clark,  John  F.  Riggs ; 
Craighead,  William  J.  Kelly ;  Columbia,  W.  H.  C.  Reed,  A.  C. 
Wheeler;  Crawford,  H.  F.  Thomasson,  Granville  Wilcox;  Crit- 
tenden,  Robert  C.  Jones ;  Cross,  David  Fitzpatrick ;  Dallas,  T.  J. 
Cameron;  Desha,  W.  C.  Weatherford;  Drew,  L.  L.  Brooks, 
Benjamin  Collins;  Franklin,  Thomas  D.  Berry;  Fulton,  J.  H. 
Tracy ;  Greene,  Samuel  Wilcoxon ;  Hempstead,  John  R.  Eakin, 
D.  M.  Cochran;  Hot  Spring,  William  C.  Kelly;  Independence, 
C.  G.  W.  Magness,  J.  C.  Brickey ;  Izard,  W.  C.  Dickson ;  Jack- 
son, L.  C.  Cause ;  Jefferson,  Read  Fletcher  ,Witt  Williamson,  Jr. ; 
Johnson,  John  W.  May,  J.  S.  Green ;  Lafayette,  John  S.  French  ; 
Lawrence,  W.  C.  Sloan,  W.  G.  Matheney ;  Madison,  L.  B.  San- 
ders, John  Carroll ;  Marion,  Jesse  Mooney ;  Mississippi,  William 
W.  Sawyer;  Monroe,  S.  P.  Hughes;  Montgomery,  G.  K.  Robin- 
son; Newton,  H.  C.  Duckey;  Ouachita,  B.  F.  Riddick;  Perry, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  83 

T.  W.  Stout;  Phillips, H.  P.  Slaughter,  W.  N.  Nixon;  Pike, 
J.  A.  McCollum;  Poinsett,  J.  A.  Meek;  Polk,  J.  D.  Baker;  Pope, 
Charles  'E.  Toby ;  Prairie,  W.  T.  Jones ;  Pulaski,  R.  C.  Newton, 
C.  F.  Farrelly;  Randolph,  J.  F.  Harrison;  Saline,  B.  S.  Med- 
lock;  Scott,  E.  Leming;  Searcy,  Benjamin  F.  Taylor;  Sebas- 
tian, J.  Hackett,  B.  Harper;  Sevier,  A.  D.  Hawkins,  W.  R. 
Holman ;  St.  Francis,  J.  M.  Parrott,  O.  E.  Dorros ;  Union,  J.  C. 
Ardis,  R.  M.  Wallace;  Van  Buren,  J.  J.  Edwards;  Washington, 
J.  R.  Pettigrew,  J.  B.  Russell,  W.  H.  Brooks,  John  Enyart; 
White,  B.  C.  Blessingame;  Woodruff,  L.  M.  Ramsaur;  Yell, 
Thomas  \Y.  Pound. 

They  met  in  regular  session  November  5,  1866.  Andrew  Hun- 
ter was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  W.  C.  Thomas,  sec- 
retary. Bradley  Bunch  was  speaker  of  the  house;  John  King, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  23,  1867. 

The  Acts  of  this  session  were  of  a  character  to  restore  good 
feeling  and  promote  the  general  interests  of  the  state.  A  num- 
ber of  educational  institutions  were  incorporated ;  provisions 
were  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  public  schools; 
cotton  and  woolen  factories  were  exempted  from  taxation  for 
five  years ;  certain  lands  belonging  to  the  Real  Estate  Bank  were 
exempted  from  taxation ;  the  Little  Rock  &  Fort  Towson,  the 
Iron  Mountain  &  Helena,  the  Pine  Bluff,  Princeton  &  Arka- 
delphia,  and  the  Arkansas,  Louisiana  &  Texas  Railroad  Compa- 
nies were  incorporated,  and  a  bill  loaning  the  credit  of  the  state 
to  aid  in  the  construction  of  railroads  was  passed  over  the  gov- 
ernor's veto. 


84  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

POWELL  CLAYTON 

GOVERNOR,  JULY  2,  1868 — JANUARY  6,  1873 

Powell  Clayton,  ninth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  was 
born  August  7,  1833,  in  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania,  where 
he  grew  to  manhood.  He  was  educated  in  the  military  academy 
at  Bristol,  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1855  went  to  Kansas.  There  he 
followed  civil  engineering  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  in 
the  spring  of  1861.  He  enlisted  as  a  captain  in  the  First  Kan- 
sas Infantry,  whose  first  engagement  was  at  Oak  Hill,  or  Wil- 
son's Creek,  Missouri.  He  was  then  commissioned  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Fifth  Kansas  Cavalry,  which  was  attached  to 
General  Samuel  R.  Curtis'  "Army  of  the  Border."  Shortly  after 
the  battle  of  Helena,  Arkansas,  July  4,  1863,  he  was  promoted 
to  Colonel.  His  regiment  was  then  assigned  to  the  army  com- 
manded by  General  Frederick  Steele  and  was  with  that  officer 
when  he  occupied  Little  Rock  on  September  10,  1863.  Clayton 
was  then  placed  in  command  at  Pine  Bluff.  For  his  successful 
defense  of  that  post  against  the  assault  of  General  John  S.  Mar- 
maduke,  he  was  promoted  to  brigadier-general. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  married  a  Miss  McGraw,  of 
Helena,  and  in  1867  purchased  a  large  plantation  near  Pine 
Bluff.  He  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  movement  that  culmi- 
nated in  the  adoption  of  a  new  constitution  in  1868.  He  was 
elected  governor  in  March,  1868,  for  a  term  of  four  years ;  was 
inaugurated  July  2,  1868.  On  September  9,  1868,  while  hunt- 
ing near  Little  Rock,  he  lost  his  left  hand  by  the  accidental  dis- 
charge of  his  gun.  In  January,  1871,  he  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  for  the  term  of  six  years,  beginning  March  4, 
1871.  At  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  senator  he  located  at 
Eureka  Springs,  where  he  became  interested  in  the  railroad 
between  that  place  and  Seligman,  Missouri.  From  1899  to  1903 
he  was  United  States  Minister  to  Mexico.  He  then  took  up  his 
residence  in  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  died  on  August  25, 
1914.  His  last  years  were  spent  in  writing  a  book  entitled  The 
Aftermath  of  the  Civil  War  in  Arkansas.  The  book  was  not 
published  until  after  his  death. 

Mrs.  II.  M.  Rose,  who  lived  in  Arkansas  while  Clayton  was 
governor,  has  written  a  review  of  his  "Aftermath."  She  says : 
"He  evidently  wrote  it  to  justify  his  reign  as  governor,  but  that 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  85 

could  never  be  done,  and  it  seems  to  me  the  book  is  very  weak 
in  defense  of  his  course,  besides  being  very  bitter  and  unfair  to 
the  people  of  our  state.  It  is  a  very  cunning  book,  and  to  one 
who  knows  nothing  of  conditions,  as  they  were,  it  might  seem 
that  he  had  given  us  a  very  liberal  government,  but  that 
is  untrue.  The  one  controlling  motive  with  him  seemed  to 
be  to  humiliate  the  Southern  people  and  to  make  them  feel  that 
he  was  their  master,  and  so  he  was,  for  he  was  upheld  by  the 
Federal  Government,  and  we  could  do  nothing." 

Mrs.  Rose  then  tells  the  following  story  concerning  the  elec- 
tion of  March,  1868,  which  throws  some  light  upon  the  political 
methods  of  reconstruction  by  which  Clayton  was  elected : 

"He  knew,  and  every  one  knew,  that  he  was  elected  by  fraud, 
a  specimen  of  which  came  under  my  own  observation.  We  had 
an  ignorant,  rough  negro  hired  as  a  yard  man,  and  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  election  he  did  not  turn  up,  and  we  did  not  see  him 
until  the  morning  of  the  fourth  day  (the  election  lasted  three 
days).  When  he  came,  I  said:  'Stever,  where  have  you  been 
.all  this  time?'  He  said:  'I  was  in  dat  place  out  dar  and  dey 
wouldn't  let  me  out  till  de  'lection  was  ober.'  Three  hundred 
negroes  were  camped  out  a  little  southwest  of  town  and  the 
first  day  they  came  in  and  voted  the  Republican  ticket,  the  sec- 
ond day  they  marched  in  and  voted,  claiming  to  have  been  driven 
from  the  polls  in  Saline  county.  The  third  day  they  marched 
in  and  voted  as  negroes  having-  been  driven  from  th;e  polls  in 
Clark  county.  That  is  only  one  specimen  of  the  election  that 
put  Clayton  in,  and  such  things  were  kept  up  during  all  the  six 
years  of  reconstruction.  It  is  a  notorious  fact  that  those  in  office 
during  those  six  years  stole  everything  in  sight,  even  to  the  slate 
roof  off  the  penitentiary.  They  bankrupted  the  city,  the  state 
.and  many  of  the  counties." 

Seventeenth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  seventeenth  General  Assembly  were  chosen 
.at  an  election  which  began  on  March  13,  1868,  and  continued 
from  day  to  day  until  March  30,  following.  Arkansas  was  then 
in  process  of  "reconstruction,"  agreeable  to  the  ideas  of  the 
Congress  which  vetoed  the  plans  of  President  Lincoln,  as  fol- 
lowed up  by  his  successor,  Andrew  Johnson.  The  state  was 
•dominated  absolutely  by  militarism.  The  state  government, 


86  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

headed  by  Governor  Isaac  Murphy,  was  powerless,  to  all  prac- 
tical purposes  repudiated.  The  negroes  now  had  the  right  to 
vote;  the  native  Southern  whites,  for  the  most  part,  were  dis- 
franchised. Every  detail  of  the  election  was  arranged  by  the 
military  authorities. 

Of  the  election,  the  Arkansas  Gazette,  in  its  issue  of  April  7, 
1868,  said:  "We  have  seen  an  election  held  by  registrars,  a 
majority  of  whom  were  candidates  for  office,  some  of  whom 
now  come  up  members  of  the  Legislature,  winners  in  a  race  in 
which  they  were  judges,  riders,  bettors,  poll  holders  and  stake 
holders.  *  *  *  *  Yet  with  all  these  advantages,  in  a  voting 
population  of  over  seventy  thousand,  they  return  a  majority  of 
about  sixteen  hundred  (for  ratification  of  the  constitution  of 
1868).  If  it  had  been  necessary  that  ten  thousand  should  be 
shown,  the  same  means  might  have  produced  the  ten  thousand. 
The  majority  is  small  to  show  that  the  struggle  was  close,  the  con-- 
test animated,  the  count  honest  and  the  victory  brilliant.  Well, 
it  is  brilliant,  and,  in  its  line,  unapproachable." 

In  the  same  issue  The  Gazette  said  of  the  senate:  "The  self- 
styled  senate  is  in  all  respects  the  most  remarkable  one  that  ever 
assembled  in  Arkansas,  indeed  we  may  truthfully  say  in  any 
state,  at  any  time.  *  *  *  *  Twenty-three  thousand  negroes 
looked  through  those  fifty-two  senatorial  eyes,  and  many  shining 
dollars  for  each  member  are  distinctly  seen  in  the  cess-pools  of 
filth  and  rottenness  to  which  they  stoop  to  gather  the  rewards 
of  cast-off  principles  and  abandoned  honor.  One  negro,  a  large 
number  of  Southern  Union  men,  and  a  few  Northern  men  com- 
pose the  senate.  *  *  *  *" 

The  editor  of  The  Gazette  paid  his  respects  also  to  the 
house :  "In  the  speaker's  stand  the  honest,  frank  countenance 
of  the  courteous,  dignified  Bunch  (formerly  speaker  of  the 
house)  is  no  longer  seen,  but  in  his  place  sits  a  thin  visaged  in- 
dividual about  whom  the  only  remarkable  thing  is  that  he  is 
there  when  so  many  bolder  looking  men  sit  beneath.  Among  the 
members  the  most  striking  feature  is  the  negro  element,  for  im- 
mediately in  front  of  the  clerk's  desk  and  on  the  first  seat  sit 
the  two  negroes  from  Phillips,  very  strangely  named  White  and 
Gray.  Just  behind  them  in  the  center  of  the  hall  is  the  burly 
form  of  the  sootv  Dick  Tett,  now  known  as  Honorable  Richard 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY 


Samuels,  of  Hempstead.  He  has  always  borne  the  character  of 
a  well  disposed,  good  mannered  negro,  and  as  a  blacksmith  in 
Washington  was  well  thought  of  and  patronized.  He  has  fallen 
into  bad  company.  A  copper  colored  negro  named  Rush  is  one 
of  the  representatives  from  this  district,  and  sits  with  his  white- 
skinned  colleagues. 

"In  the  place  of  that  body  of  plainly  dressed  men  with  hon- 
est countenances  and  easy,  unpretentious  manners,  which  can 
be  found  here  whenever  the  white  people  of  Arkansas  have 
been  allowed  to  exercise  a  free  choice  at  the  ballot  box,  there 
is  a  congregation  of  a  variety  of  characters  which  reveals  the 
material  of  which  Arkansas  radicalism  is  composed.  Here  sits 
the  ex-bureau  agent,  who  has  lived  from  fees  extracted  from 
the  poor  negro,  and  blackmail  levied  upon  white  employees. 
Here  are  the  registrars,  who  have  performed  their  share  of 
work  for  the  party  by  manipulating  the  vote  so  as  to  show  a  . 
majority  for  the  constitution  (of  1868)  and  give  them  their 
seat  as  members  of  a  legislature.  Here  are  a  few  old  residents 
of  the  state,  who  having  been,  at  some  time  or  other,  plundered 
or  badly  treated  by  poorly  disciplined  troops  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, transmogrified  themselves  into  Union  men.  As  martyrs, 
they  now  claim  high  positions.  *  *  *  *  . 

"That  this  assemblage  is  a  representative  body  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Arkansas,  no  one  will  think  for  a  moment.  Some  of 
them  never  had  seen  the  districts  which  they  claim  to  repre- 
sent, one  year  ago;  and  the  inmates  of  but  few  houses  in  their 
districts  would  tolerate  their  presence  as  guests.  The  officers 
are  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  congregation.  One 
officer  has  not  been  in  the  state  over  six  months,  and  others 
have  only  the  advantage  of  him  by  a  few  months.  An  assist- 
ant doorkeeper  is  a  large  negro,  who  was  the  chief  marshal  of 
the  procession  which  paraded  our  streets  during  the  days  of 
the  election;  and  in  this  way  has  he  been  rewarded.  The  post- 
master is  a  negro  from  Helena,  of  very  light  shade,  and  by  odds 
more  respectable  in  appearance  than  four-fifths  of  the  mem- 
bers. Of  the  pages,  two  are  negroes  and  two  are  white  ;  the- 
only  instance  in  which  the  claims  of  the  negro  wing,  amounting- 
to  six-sevenths  of  the  party,  have  been  to  any  considerable  extent 
recognized.  If  out  of  an  assemblage  of  this  kind  any  •  good! 
comes  to  the  commonwealth,  we  shall  be  rejoiced  to  hear  it." 


88  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Jackson, 
Craighead,  Poinsett,  Cross  and  Mississippi  counties),  D.  H. 
Goodman)  Second  (Lawrence,  Randolph  and  Greene),  P.  H. 
Young;  Third  (Madison,  Marion,  Carroll,  Fulton  and  Izard), 
M.  L.  Stephenson ;  Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren), 
E.  D..  Rusting;  Fifth  (Searcy,  Pope  and  Conway),  Z.  Keeton; 
Sixth  (Newton,  Johnson  and  Yell),  J.  N.  Sarber;  Seventh 
(Washington  and  Benton),  T.  J.  Hunt;  Eighth  (Crawford, 
Franklin  and  Sebastian),  Valentine  Dell;  Ninth  (Crittenden,  St. 
Francis  and  Woodruff),  E.  G.  Barker;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
White),  O.  A.  Hadley ;  Eleventh  (Phillips  and  Monroe),  Ben- 
jamin Thomas,  A.  H.  Evans;  Twelfth  (Prairie  and  Arkansas), 
A.  Hemingway;  Thirteenth  (Scott,  Polk,  Montgomery  and  Hot 
Spring),  D.  P.  Beldin ;  Fourteenth  (Hempstead),  George  W. 
Martin;  Fifteenth  (Lafayette  and  Little  River),  G.  C.  Scott; 
Sixteenth  (Union  and  Calhoun),  H.  A.  Millen;  Seventeenth 
(Clark,  Pike  and  Sevier),  J.  C.  Ray;  Eighteenth  (Columbia), 
George  W.  McCown;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita),  J.  P.  Portis; 
Twentieth  (Jefferson  and  Bradley),  S.  W.  Mallory,  O.  P.  Sny- 
der;  Twenty-first  (Dallas,  Saline  and  Perry),  E.  H.  Vance; 
Twenty-second  (Ashley,  Chicot,  Drew  and  Desha),  W.  Harbi- 
son, J.  W.  Mason. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  First  District  (Jackson, 
Craighead,  Poinsett,  Cross  and  Mississippi  counties),  \\  .  \\  . 
Stansberry,  N.  L.  Pears,  A.  M.  Johnson,  J.  A.  Houghton  ;  Sec- 
ond (Lawrence,  Randolph  and  Greene),  E.  Sharp,  J.  Hufstedler, 
J.  M.  Linsay;  Third  (Madison,  Marion  and  Carroll),  Benjamin 
Vaughan,  S.  A.  Firzwater,  J.  T.  Hopper,  P.  A.  Williams ; 
Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren),  J.  Clem,  J.  Ferguson, 
Jesse  Milsaps;  Fifth  (Searcy,  Pope  and  Conway),  W.  W.  Bra- 
shear,  J.  R.  Hall,  H.  W.  Hodges;  Sixth  (Newton,  Johnson  and 
Yell),  D.  R.  Lee,  W.  N.  May,  Sam  Dial;  Seventh  (Washing- 
ton and  Benton),  S.  Bard,  J.  Yoes,  E.  D.  Fenno,  J.  F.  Owen; 
Eighth  (Crawford,  Franklin  and  Sebastian),  J.  B.  C.  Turman, 
D.  H.  Divilbiss,  A.  J.  Singleton,  A.  Gunther;  Ninth  (Critten- 
den, St.  Francis  and  Woodruff),  D.  Coates,  E.  R.  Knight,  Asa 
Hodges.  D.  P.  Upham;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  White),  M.  W.  Ben- 
jamin, J.  G.  Price,  A.  L.  Bush,  Sol  Miller,  F.  M.  Chrisman,  John 
Goad;  Eleventh  (Phillips  and  Monroe),  J.  A.  Butler,  M.  Reed, 
J.  C.  Tobias,  \V.  H.  Gray,  J.  T.  White,  J.  K.  Whitson ;  Twelfth 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  89 

(Prairie  and  Arkansas),  G.  M.  French,  Isaac  Ayres,  W.  S.  Mc- 
Cullough,  T.  M.  Gibson;  Thirteenth  (Scott,  Polk,  Montgomery 
and  Hot  Spring),  J.  V.  Harrison,  J.  H.  Denby;  Fourteenth 
(Hempstead),  S.  f.  Mitchell,  S.  D.  Beldin,  R.  R.  Samuels; 
Fifteenth  (Lafayette  and  Little  River),  A.  M.  Merrick,  A.  T. 
Carroll,  M.  Hawkins;  Sixteenth  (Union  and  Calhoun),  R.  F. 
Catterson,  Loinski  Ivy;  Seventeenth  (Clark,  Pike  and  Sevier), 
W.  A.  Britton,  Sol  Exon,  W.  P.  Coolidge,  J.  R.  Bush ;  Eighteenth 
(Columbia),  W.  A.  Beasley,  D.  J.  Smith,  M.  M.  Olive;  Nine- 
teenth (Ouachita),  N.  N.  Rawlings,  W.  H.  Wright;  Twentieth 
(Jefferson  and  Bradley),  P.  Mosley,  H.  St.  John,  J.  M.  Gray, 
J.  J.  Williams,  G.  W.  Davis,  William  T.  Morrow ;  Twenty-first 
(Dallas,  Saline  and  Perry),  G.  H.  Kyle,  J.  G.  Gibbon;  Twenty- 
second  (Ashley,  Chicot,  Drew  and  Desha),  N.  M.  Newell,  C.  F. 
Simms,  R.  S.  Curry,  D.  S.  Wells,  Z.  H.  Manees. 

This,  the  seventeenth,  General  Assembly  met  in  regular 
session  April  2,  1868.  J.  M.  Johnson,  as  lieutenant-governor,  was 
president  of  the  senate;  I.  W.  Carhart  was  elected  secretary. 
John  G.  Price  was  speaker  of  the  house;  F.  E.  Wright,  clerk. 
The  session  lasted  until  July  23,  1868. 

A  special  session  of  this  General  Assembly  was  convened  on 
November  17,  1868,  which  session  lasted  until  April  10,  1869. 
Thus,  altogether,  this  Asembly  wras  in  session,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  months  of  August,  September  and  October,  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  year  from  April,  1868,  until  April,  1869. 

It.  fell  to  the  lot  of  this  General  Assembly  to  elect  two  United 
States  Senators.  Alexander  McDonald  was  elected  for  the  term 
which  expired  March  4,  1871 — the  remainder  of  the  term  for 
which  William  K.  Sebastian  had  been  elected  in  1865 — and  Ben- 
jamin F.  Rice  was  elected  for  the  term  ending  March  4,  1873. 

The  state  was  divided  into  three  Congressional  districts.  The 
First  district  embraced  twenty-three  counties  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  state ;  the  Second  District  included  the  fifteen  south- 
eastern counties;  and  the  Third  District  was  composed  of  the 
sixteen  counties  in  the  western  part,  extending  as  far  east  as 
Pulaski. 

Of  the  many  laws  passed  during  the  two  sessions,  there  were 
a  few  Acts  which  stand  out  as  historically  significant.  An  Act 


90  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

was  passed  to  fund  the  public  debt  of  the  state,  the  new  bonds 
to  equal  the  principal  and  accrued  interest  of  the  old;  another 
created  a  board  of  railroad  commissioners  with  power  to  grant 
state  aid  to  railroad  companies  under  certain  conditions ;  the 
state  was  divided  into  ten  judicial  circuits  and  the  time  fixed  for 
holding  court  in  each;  provision  was  made  for  the  enrollment 
of  the  militia  "for  public  defense;"  the  Arkansas  Deaf  Mute 
Institute  was  established;  the  Institute  for  the  Blind  was  re- 
moved from  Arkadelphia  to  Little  Rock ;  provision  was  made 
for  the  establishment  of  an  industrial  university  under  the  Act 
of  Congress  of  July  2,  1862.  (See  High  Lights).  A  new  law 
regulating  the  assessment  of  property  and  the  levying  of  taxes 
was  also  passed. 

Eighteenth  General  Assembly— 

Members  of  the  eighteenth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
November  8,  1870.  Commenting  on  the  methods  and  results 
of  the  election,  The  Arkansas  Gazette,  in  Its  issue  of  November 
17,  1870,  said:  "Although  we  have  been  most  shamefully  and 
outrageously  wronged,  cheated  and  defrauded  out  of  our  just 
and  lawful  rights,  by  a  most  notoriously  partial  and  partisan 
execution  of  the  registration  and  election  laws,  we  have  succeeded 
in  electing  a  respectable  minority  to  the  legislature,  who  will 
act  as  a  Spartan  guard  at  the  Thermopylea  of  our-menaced  rights 
and  liberties,  and  beat  back  the  invading  tide  of  radicalism  that 
threatens  to  overwhelm  us  with  ruin." 

The  members  of  the  senate  .were :  First  District  (Jackson, 
Craighead,  Poinsett,  Cross  and  Mississippi  counties),  J.  G.  Frier- 
son;  Second  (Lawrence,  Randolph  and  Greene),  P.  H,  Young; 
Third  (Madison,  Marion,  Carroll,  Fulton  and  Izard),  William 
Dugger;  Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren),  E.  D.  Rush- 
ing; Fifth  (Searcy,  Pope  and  Conway),  A.  D.  Thomas;  Sixth 
(Newton,  Johnson  and  Yell),  John  N.  Sarber ;  Seventh  (Wash- 
ington and  Benton),  A.  Caraloff;  Eighth  (Crawford,  Franklin 
and  Sebastian),  V.  Dell;  Ninth  (Crittenden,  St.  Francis  and 
Woodruff),  Asa  Hodges;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  White),  O.  A. 
Hartley,  W.  Riley ;  Eleventh  (Phillips  and  Monroe),  J.  T.  White, 
Frank  Gallagher;  Twelfth  (Prairie  and  Arkansas),  A.  Hem- 
ingway; Thirteenth  (Scott,  Polk,  Montgomery  and  Hot  Spring), 
D.  P.  Beldin;  Fourteenth  (Hempstead),  G.  H.  Martin;  Fifteenth 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  91 

(Lafayette  and  Little  River),  J.  Torrans ;  Sixteenth  (Union  and 
Calhoun),  J.  H.  Askew;  Seventeenth  (Clark,  Pike  and  Sevier), 
J.  Howard;  Eighteenth  (Columbia),  R.  B.  Archer;  Nineteenth 
(Ouachita),  J.  T.  Elliott;  Twentieth  (Jefferson  and  Bradley), 
S.  W.  Mallory,  O.  P.  Snyder;  Twenty-first  (Dallas,  Saline  and 
Perry),  S.  F.  Duffie ;  Twenty-second  (Ashley,  Chicot,  Drew  and 
Desha),  J.  W.  Mason,  William  Harbison  . 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  First  District  (Craighead, 
Cross,  Jackson,  Mississippi  and  Poinsett  counties),  W.  H.  Care, 
Charles  Minor,  L.  D.  Rozell,  J.  A.  Meek;  Second (  Greene,  Law- 
rence, Randolph  and  Sharp),  J.  D.  Glass,  M.  Harvey,  George 
Thornburgh,  W.  B.  Janes;  Third  (Boone,  Madison,  Carroll,  Ful- 
ton, Izard  and  Marion),  E.  P.  Watson,  G.  J.  Crump,  F.  J. 
Eubanks,  J.  S.  O'Seal ;  Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren), 
W.  R.  Padgett,  W.  H.  Palmer,  W.  E.  Wilson;  Fifth  (Conway, 
Pope  and  Searcy),  T.  D.  Hawkins,  B.  F.  Taylor,  N.  H.  Cleland; 
Sixth  (Johnson,  Newton  and  Yell),  J.  L.  Garner,  B.  W.  Her- 
ring, W.  G.  Harris:  Seventh  (Benton  and  Washington),  J.  F. 
Owen,  Martin  F.  Tygart,  Thomas  Wilson,  James  M.  Pittman; 
Eighth  (Crawford,  Sebastian  and  Franklin),  J.  M.  Pettigrew, 
C.  B.  Neal,  J.  B.  Stevens,  J.  P.  Grady;  Ninth  (Crittenden,  St. 
Francis  and  Woodruff),  Ada,  Johnson,  Jeff  Haskins,  M.  A. 
Kohn,  Thomas  W.  Ham;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  White),  C.  A. 
Whitternore,  R.  A."  Howard,  J.  W.  Pilkington,  John  Goad,  J.  W. 
House,  E.  H.  Chamberlain;  Eleventh,  Monroe  and  Phillips), 
G.  W.  Hollibough,  A.  Mays,  John  M.  Peck,  Austin  Barrow, 
C.  C.  Waters,  J.  M.  Alexander,  Jr. ;  Twelfth  (Arkansas  and 
Prairie),  E.  R.  Wiley,  George  H.  Joslyn,  B.  C.  Morgan,  A.  O. 
Espy;  Thirteenth  (Hot  Spring,  Montgomery,  Polk,  Scott  and 
Grant),  J.  F.  Lans,  J.  J.  Simpter,  James  M.  Bethel;  Fourteenth 
(Hempstead),  B.  B.  Battle,  W.  R.  Basden,  I.  C.  P.  McLendon; 
Fifteenth  (Lafayette  and  Little  River),  Thomas  Orr,  C.  Bar- 
bour,  W.  C.  Hazeldine ;  Sixteenth  (Calhoun  and  Union),  Thomas 
Gray,  Alex  Mason;  Seventeenth  (Clark,  Pike  and  Sevier),  G. 
Haddock,  Charles  W.  Tankersley,  John  Wagner,  T.  G.  .  T. 
Steele ;  Eighteenth  (Columbia),  D.  J.  Smith,  F.  M.  Thompson, 
U.  G.  \Vood;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita),  D.  E.  Jenkins,  M.  A. 
Fricks ;  Twentieth  (Bradley,  Jefferson  and  Grant),  William 
Young.  G.  W.  Prigmore,  J.  M.  Clayton,  R.  S.  Parker,  E.  G. 
Hale,  Carl  Pope;  Twenty-first  (Grant,  Perry,  Saline  and  Dal- 


92  OUTLINE   OF   EXECUTIVE 

las),  W.  R.  Harley,  J.  H.  Scales ;  Twenty-second  (Ashley,  Chicot, 
Drew  and  Desha),  A.  J.  Robinson,  C.  W.  Freddy,  H.  Marr,  E.  A. 
Felton,  J.  W.  Harris,  John  Webb. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  2,  1871.  J.  M.  John- 
son, as  lieutenant-governor,  was  president  of  the  senate.  R.  L. 
Archer  was  elected  secretary.  C.  W.  Tankersley  was  speaker 
of  the  house;  J.  R.  Richards,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until 
March  25,  1871. 

As  the  term  of  United  States  Senator  Alexander  McDonald 
would  expire  on  March  4,  1871,  it  was  necessary  for  this  Assem- 
bly to  elect  his  successor.  On  January  11,  1871,  the  two  houses 
met  in  joint  session  for  that  purpose.  Governor  Clayton  received 
a  majority  of  the  votes  and  was  declared  elected.  But,  for 
reasons  the  history  of  which  is  given  below,  Clayton  later  de- 
clined the  election. 

By  1871  the  Republicans  of  Arkansas  were  divided  into  two 
factions.  One  faction  was  known  as  the  "Minstrels,"  and  the 
other  as  the  "Brindle  Tails."  The  former  was  led  by  Governor 
Clayton  and  the  latter  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  Brooks.  The  name 
"Minstrels"  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  John  G.  Price,  editor  of 
the  Little  Rock  Republican,  and  a  staunch  supporter  of  Gov- 
ernor Clayton,  had  once  been  connected  with  a  minstrel  troupe. 
The  other  faction  received  its  name  from  Jack  Agery,  a  negro 
orator,  who  said:  "Rev.  Joe  Brooks'  voice  reminds  me  of  an 
old  brindle  tail  bull  I  knew  of  when  I  was  a  boy,  that  bellowed 
so  loud  he  scared  the  other  cattle  half  to  death." 

Lieutenant-Governor  Johnson,  in  the  split,  turned  out  to  be 
a  "Brindle  Tail,"  as  shown  at  the  opening  of  the  legislative 
session  when  he  recognized  Joseph  Brooks  as  a  senator  from  the 
district  composed  of  Pulaski  and  White  counties.  Thus  the 
plans  of  Clayton  and  his  crowd  became  confused.  For,  if  Clay- 
ton went  to  the  United  States  Senate,  Johnson  would  then  be 
governor.  As  such,  he  would  turn  the  state  over  to  the  hated 
"Brindle  Tails."  Accordingly,  resolutions  of  impeachment 
against  the  lieutenant-governor  were  introduced  by  the  "Min- 
strels," charging  him  with  having  recognized  Brooks  as  senator 
in  defiance  of  law.  By  this  means  Clayton  meant  to  get  John- 
son out  of  the  way.  But  the  plan  failed,  because  the  senate  com- 
mittee on  elections  removed  the  cause  for  impeachment  by  un- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  93 

seating  Brooks.  The  impeachment  proceedings  having  failed, 
Clayton  then  announced  that  duty  compelled  him  to  decline  the 
office  of  United  States  Senator. 

On  February  16,  1871,  W.  B.  Padgett,  a."Brindle  Tail,"  pre- 
sented a  motion  in  the  house  "to  impeach  Governor  Powell  Clay- 
ton of  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  to  suspend  him  from 
the  office  of  governor."  The  motion  charged  him  with  "con- 
spiring to  deprive  the  lieutenant-governor  of  the  office  to  which 
he.  was  elected  by  the  people ;  that  he  has  unlawfully  removed 
certain  officers  in  Clark  county ;  that  he  has  encouraged  frauds 
in  the  election  of  senators  and  representatives  from  the  Thir- 
teenth District,  composed  of  Hot  Spring,  Montgomery,  Polk 
and  Scott  counties ;  that  he  accepted  pecuniary  consideration  for 
issuing  railroad  aid  bonds  of  the  state  to  the  Memphis  &  Little 
Rock,  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith,  and  the  Mississippi, 
Ouachita  &  Red  River  railroad  companies  in  violation  of  law; 
and  that  he  has  committed  other  high  crimes." 

The  motion  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  43  to  33  and  managers 
were  appointed  to  prepare  articles  of  impeachment  for  pre- 
sentation to  the  bar  of  the  senate.  Clayton's  friends  knew  how 
to  "fix"  witnesses,  and  the  board  of  managers  failed  to'  pro- 
duce sufficient  testimony  to  sustain  the  impeachment  charges, 
which  were  accordingly  dismissed.  Fortunately  for  the  "Min- 
strels" an  incident  occurred  at  this  juncture  which  relieved  the 
situation.  Robert  J.  T..  White,  secretary  of  state,  resigned  and 
Clayton  prevailed  upon  the  lieutenant-governor  to  accept  an 
appointment  to  the  vacancy.  Ozra  A.  Hadley  was  then  elected 
president  of  the  senate.  On  March  14,  1871,  at  another  joint 
session  of  the  two  houses,  Powell  Clayton  was  again  elected 
LTnited  States  senator  "to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  his 
declination." 

Of  the  general  Acts  passed  at  this  session,  the  following 
were  the  most  important:  Provision  was  made  for  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Industrial  University,  as  created  by  the  seven- 
teenth General  Assembly ;  the  time  for  the  completion  of  all 
railroads  that  had  received  state  aid  was  extended ;  the  election 
laws  were  amended,  and  the  elective  franchise  was  restored  to  a 
large  number  of  citizens. 


94  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

ELISHA  BAXTER 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  6,  1873 — .NOVEMBER  12,  1874 

On  March  17,  1871,  Powell  Clayton,  in  a  message  to  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  announced  his  resignation  as  governor  and  in- 
formed the  members  that  he  had  turned  over  all  the  records 
of  the  governor's  office  to  Ozra  A.  Hadley,  president  of  the 
senate,  who  would  be  acting  governor  for  the  remainder  of  the 
term  to  which  he  (Clayton)  had  been  elected.  Thus,  through 
Hadley,  who  proved  himself  the  willing  tool  of  the  Clayton 
regime,  Powell  Clayton  continued  to  govern  the  state  from  his 
seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  until  the  inauguration  of  his 
lawfully  elected  successor. 

Elisha  Baxter,  tenth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas,  was 
born  in  Rutherford  county,  North  Carolina,  September  1,  1827. 
Pie  was~  the  son  of  William  and  Catherine  (Lee)  Baxter.  The 
father  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  who  came  to  America  in  1789. 
His  mother  was  a  native  of  Virginia.  Elisha  received  only  a 
limited  education  and  in  1848  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business 
in  the  county  where  he  was  born.  In  1852  he  came  to  Arkansas; 
settled  in  Batesville,  where  he  and  his  brother,  Taylor  Baxter, 
opened  a  mercantile  establishment  in  1853.  In  1854  he  was 
elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from  Independence  county. 
His  interest  in  politics,  and  the  consequent  neglect  of  his  busi- 
ness, caused  the  failure  of  his  mercantile  firm  in  1855,  though 
he  and  his  brother  afterwards  paid  every  cent  of  their  indebted- 
ness. 

Soon  after  his  failure  as  a  merchant,  he  went  into  the  office 
of  the  Independent  Balance,  a  Batesville  newspaper  conducted 
by  M.  S.  Kennard  and  W.  F.  Fort,  to  learn  the  printer's  trade. 
Here  he  was  employed  for  about  a  year,  studying  law  in  the 
meantime  with  H.  F.  Fairchild.  In  1856  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  and  in  1858  was  again  elected  to  the  General  Assembly. 
At  the  close  of  the  legislative  session  in  1859  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  James  Hinds,  who  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1866 
and  was  killed  shortly  afterwards,  as  an  incident  of  the  troubles 
of  reconstruction. 

Prior  to  the  war,  Baxter  had  been  a  Whig.  He  was  opposed 
to  secession.  k  When  the  war  began,  in  1861,  he  became  a  Union 
man.  As  such,  General  Samuel  R.  Curtis  offered  him,  in  1862, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  95 

the  colonelcy  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Arkansas  Union  Infantry. 
He  declined  the  commission,  not  because  of  any  lack  of  loyalty, 
but  because  he  was  of  southern  birth  and  did  not  like  to  take 
up  arms  against  his  friends.  Soon  after  that  he  went  to  Mis- 
souri, where  he  was  captured  by  a  detachment  of  Confederate 
cavalry  belonging  to  the  command  of  Colonel  Robert  C.  New- 
ton. He  was  paroled  by  Colonel  Newton  and  ordered  to  report 
to  General  T.  H.  Holmes  at  Little  Rock.  Upon  his  arrival  there 
he  was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  treason  against  the  Confed- 
erate States  and  thrown  into  the  county  jail.  An  indictment  was 
returned,  but  the  trial  was  postponed  and  with  the  assistance  of 
friends  he  managed  to  make  his  escape.  He  then  sought  refuge 
inside  the  Federal  lines.  Whereupon  General  Fredrick  Steele 
authorizd  him  to  recruit  a  regiment  for  the  Federal  service,  and 
he  raised  the  Fourth  Arkansas  Mounted  Infantry,  of  which  he 
was  commissioned  colonel.  He  commanded  the  post  at  Bates- 
ville  until  the  formation  of  the  Murphy  government  in  the  spring 
of  1864.  He  was  then  elected  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  Two  weeks  later  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator, 
but  was  not  permitted  to  take  his  seat. 

By  this  time  he  had  re-established  his  residence  at  Batesville, 
where  he  took  up  again  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1868 
he  was  appointed  register  in  bankruptcy  for  the  First  Congres- 
sional District,  by  Salmon  P.  Chase,  then  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed 
judge  of  the  Third  Circuit  by  Governor  Clayton.  He  discharged 
the  duties  of  both  circuit  judge  and  register  in  bankruptcy  until 
nominated  for  governor  in  1872.  In  November,  1874,  when  he 
was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  governor  by  Augustus  H.  Garland, 
he  retired  to  private  life  at  Batesville.  Again  he  took  up  the 
practice  of  law  and  also  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He 
died  at  his  home  in  Batesville  May  31,  1899. 

In  1849  Governor  Baxter  married  Miss  Harriet  Patton, 
daughter  of  Elijah  Patton,  of  Rutherford  county,  North  Caro- 
lina. To  this  union  were  born  six  children — Millard  P.,  Edward 
A.,  Catherine  M.,  George  E.,  Hattie  O.,  and  Fannie 'E. 

Nineteenth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  nineteenth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
November  5,  1872.  According  to  the  Arkansas  Gazette  of  Jan- 


96  OUTLINE   OF   EXECUTIVE 


uary  3,  1873,  the  senate  was  made  up  of  nineteen  regular  Repub- 
licans, one  Liberal  Republican  and  five  Democrats.  Of  the  rep- 
resentatives, fifty-two  were  regular  Republicans;  two  were  Lib- 
eral Republicans  and  twenty-eight  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Jackson, 
Craighead,  Poinsett,  Cross  and  Mississippi  counties).  J.  F.  Grier- 
son;  Second  (Greene,  Lawrence,  Randolph  and  Sharp),  T.  J. 
Ratcliffe;  Third  (Madison,  Marion,  Carroll,  Fulton  and  Izard), 
William  Dugger;  Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren),  R.  W. 
McChesney;  Fifth  (Searcy,  Pope  and  Conway),  A.  D.  Thomas; 
Sixth  (Newton,  Johnson,  Yell  and  Sarber),  Thomas  A.  Hanks; 
Seventh  .(Washington  and  Benton),  Alex  Caraloff;  Eighth 
(Crawford,  Franklin  and  Sebastian),  J.  D.  Arbuckle;  Ninth 
(Crittenden,  St.  Francis  and  Woodruff),  Asa  Hodges;  Tenth 
(Pulaski  and  White),  John  Goad,  R.  B.  White;  Eleventh  (Phil- 
lips and  Monroe),  J.  T.  White,  Frank  Gallagher;  Twelfth 
(Arkansas,  Prairie  and  Lincoln),  P.  C.  Dooley;  Thirteenth 
(Scott,  Polk,  Montgomery  and  Hot  Spring),  D.  P.  Bedlin ;  Four- 
teenth (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  John  Brooker;  Fifteenth 
(Lafayette  and  Little  River),  James  Torrons;  Sixteenth  (Union 
and  Calhoun),  W.  A.  Coit ;  Seventeenth  (Clark,  Pike  and 
Sevier),  James  Howard;  Eighteenth  (Columbia  and  Nevada), 
B.  F.  Askew;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita),  J.  T.  Elliott;  Twentieth 
(Jefferson,  Bradley,  Grant  and  Lincoln),  J.  M.  Clayton,  R.  A. 
Dawson;  Twenty-first  (Saline,  Dallas,  Perry  and  Grant),  B.  B. 
Beavers;  Twenty-second  (Ashley,  Chicot,  Drew,  Desha  and  Lin- 
coln), S.  A.  Duke,  S.  H.  Holland. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  First  District  (Craighead, 
Cross,  Jackson  and  Mississippi  counties),  Roderick  Joiner,  W.  H. 
Cate,  H.  M.  McVeigh,  F.  W.  Lynn;  Second  (Greene,  Lawrence, 
Sharp  and  Randolph),  George  Thornburg,  B.  H.  Crowley, 
William  G.  Matheney;  Third  (Carroll,  Fulton,  Izard,  Marion 
and  Boone),  W.  L.  Chapman,  Joseph  Wright,  J.  M.  Foster, 
J.  F.  Cunningham;  Fourth  (Independence  and  Van  Buren),  Joe 
Cleveland,  Rufus  Lee,  John  G.  Nunn;  Fifth  (Searcy,  Pope  and 
Conway),  Benton  Turner,  Y.  B.  Shappard,  J.  F.  Stevenson; 
Sixth  (Newton,  Johnson,  Yell  and  Sarber),  John  N.  Sarber, 
P.  H.  Spears,  James  A.  Shrigley;  Seventh  (Benton  and  Wash- 
ington), David  Chandler,  James  H.  Berry,  D.  Bridenthal,  T.  W. 
Thomasson;  Eighth  (Crawford,  Sebastian  and  Franklin),  J.  A. 
Davie,  C.  E.  Berry,  L.  C.  White,  S.  L.  Strong;  Ninth  (Critten- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  97 

den,  St.  Francis  and  Woodruff),  W.  L.  Copeland,  Adam  John- 
son, Charles  Brown,  J.  M.  Johnson;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  White), 
L.-B.  Mitchell,  J.  M.  Gist,  W.  I.  Warwick,  N.  Brown,  J.  B. 
Clopton,  Joseph  N.  Murphy;  Eleventh  (Phillips  and  Monroe), 
J.  W.  Williams,  Tony  Grissom,  John  W.  Fox,  W.  H.  Furbush, 
G.  H.  W.  Stewary,  H.  H.  Robinson;  Twelfth  (Arkansas,  Prairie 
and  Lincoln),  M.  M.  Erwin,  J.  F.  Preston,  J.  P.  Eagle,  D.  J. 
Hinds;  Thirteenth  (Scott,  Polk,  Montgomery,  Hot  Spring  and 
Grant),  L.  D.  Gilbreath,  J.  J.  Sumpter,  George  G.  Latta;  Four- 
teenth (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  R.  T.  Page,  Arch  Sheperson, 
W.  A.  Marshall;  Fifteenth  (Lafayette  and  Little  River),  M. 
Hawkins,  M.  D.  Kent,  A.  M.  Hankins ;  Sixteenth  (Union  and 
Calhoun),  W.  Robertson,  W.  B.  Coit;  Seventeenth  (Clark,  Pike 
and  Sevier),  C.  W.  Tankersley,  G.  A.  Kingston;  Eighteenth 
(Columbia  and  Nevada),  W.  M.  C.  Reid,  W.  A.  Beasley,  J.  C. 
Walker;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita  and  Nevada),  H.  A.  Millen, 
C.  Thrower;  Twentieth  (Jefferson,  Bradley,  Grant  and  Lincoln), 
A.  E.  Beardsley,  A.  J.  White,  W.  Murphy,  Ferd  Havis,  V.  M. 
Gehee,  J.  M.  Merrett;  Twenty-first  (Dallas,  Saline,  Perry  and 
Grant),.  J.  W.  Gossett,  W.  R.  Harley;  Twenty-second,  S.  W. 
McLeod,  John  C.  Collins,  X.  J.  Pindall,  O.  F.  Parish,  J.  T.  W. 
Tillar,  J.  E.  Joslyn. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  6,  1873.  Volney  V. 
Smith,  as  lieutenant-governor,  was  president  of  the  senate. 
W.  W.  Orrick  was  elected  secretary.  C.  W.  Tankersley  was 
speaker  of  the  house;  Henry  M.  Cooper,  clerk.  The  session 
lasted  until  April  25,  1873. 

According  to  the  usual  custom,  the  two  houses,  as  soon  as 
they  were  organized,  met  in  joint  session  to  canvass  the  returns 
of  the  November  election.  Baxter,  whose  election  was  contested 
by  Joseph  Brooks,  was  declared  elected,  and  then  inaugurated. 
Whereupon  he  delivered  a  brief  address,  in  which  he  pledged 
himself  to  carry  out  the  promises  made  by  his  party  in  the  cam- 
paign, especially  the  restoration  of  the  right  to  vote  to  the  dis- 
franchised citizens  of  the  state. 

.The  General  Assembly  of  1871  had  proposed  an  amendment 
to  the  constitution  for  the  removal  of  all  restrictions  upon  the 
exercises  of  the  elective  franchise,  except  for  felonies,  of  which 
the  accused  had  been  duly  convicted,  and  insane  persons.  And 
the  nineteenth  General  Assembly  submitted  this  amendment  to 
the  people  at  a  special  election  on  March  3,  1873.  The  amend- 


08  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 


ment  was  thus  ratified  %  popular  vote  and  Governor  Baxter 
issued  a  proclamation  on  April  19,  1873,  declaring  it  a  part  of 
the  constitution.  But  the  registration  officers  still  retained  the 
power  to  strike  from  the  lists  of  voters  the  names  of  such  per- 
sons as  they  thought  were  not  entitled  to  vote,  hence  the  amend- 
ment lost  some  of  its  force  through  the  arbitrary  acts  of  regis- 
tration boards. 

At  this  session  a  ''civil  rights  bill"  was  passed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preventing  railroads,  hotels,  restaurants,  places  of 
amusement,  etc.,  from  discriminating  against  colored  people;  the 
board  of  education  was  ordered  to  establish  schools  for  colored 
children ;  the  state  was  divided  into  five  congressional  districts ; 
counties,  cities  and  towns  were  authorized  to  issue  bonds  to  aid 
in  railroad  construction. 

Stephen  W.  Dorsey  was  elected  United  States  Senator,  to  suc- 
ceed Benjamin  F.  Rice,  for  the  term  beginning  March  4,  1873. 
Of  Dorsey's  election  the  Helena  World  said:  "S.  W.  Dorsey  has 
been  in  our  state  about  two  years,  all  told.  About  half  of  that 
time  he  was  not  a  denizen,  his  family  remaining  in  his  cherished 
home,  Oberlin,  Ohio.  He  is  unknown  to  the  people  of  Arkansas. 
He  came  here  to  promote  his  railroad  interests.  He  obtained 
state,  county  and  city  aid,  under  the  most  solemn  pledges.  By 
trickery,  hocus-pocus  and  legerdemain,  the  gauge  of  the  road 
was  changed  from  standard  to  narrow  gauge,  as  adopted.  Today 
we  have  a  wheelbarrow  road  from  Helena  westward,  costing 
nothing  in  comparison  with  the  one  he  professed  to  come  here 
to  construct." 

As  an  incident  of  the  Brooks-Baxter  war  (see  High  Lights), 
Governor  Baxter  called  a  special  session  of  the  nineteenth  Gen- 
eral Assembly,  which  began  May  11,  1874.  As  Brooks  and  his 
men  were  in  possession  of  the  State  House,  the  assembly  met 
in  a  hall  situated  on  Markham  street  near  Rock  street.  The  lieu- 
tenant-governor, Volney  V.  Smith,  and  Speaker  Tankersley,  both 
being  absent,  J.  G.  Frierson  was  elected  president  pro  tempore 
of  the  senate,  and  James  H.  Berry  speaker  of  the  house.  The 
only  really  important  Act  of  the  session  was  an  Act  calling  a 
constitutional  convention  (see  High  Lights).  On  May  19,  1874, 
Governor  Baxter  having  been  recognized  by  President  Grant  as 
the  lawfully  elected  governor,  Baxter  and  the  General  Assembly 
took  possession  of  the  State  House,  where  the  latter  continued 
in  session  until  May  28,  1874. 


AND   LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  99 

AUGUSTUS  HILL  GARLAND 

GOVERNOR,  NOVEMBER  12,  1874 — JANUARY  11,  1877 

Augustus  Hill  Garland,  eleventh  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  in  Tipton  county,  Tennessee,  June  11,  1832. 
When  he  was  about  a  year  old  his  parents  removed  to  Arkansas 
and  located  on  the  Red  river,  in  the  eastern  part  of  Miller  county. 
There  the  father  died  after  a  few  months,  and  the  mother,  with 
her  four  children — John,  Rufus  K.,  Elizabeth  and  Augustus — 
removed  to  Spring  Hill,  Hempstead  county.  About  1844  they 
removed  to  Washington,  the  county  seat  of  Hempstead,  where 
Augustus  was  prepared  for  college  in  the  private  school  of  H.  R. 
Banks.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  was  sent  to  Bardstown,  Ken- 
tucky, and  there  he  pursued  his  academic  studies  in  the  Cath- 
olic colleges  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph.  Upon  completing  the 
course  he  returned  to  Arkansas  and  for  one  year  taught  school 
in  Sevier -county. 

In  the  meantime  his  mother  had  married  Thomas  Hubbard, 
with  whom  August  took  up  the  study  of  law.  In  1853  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  That  same  year  he  married  Miss  Virginia 
Sanders,  a  daughter  of  Simon  T.  Sanders,  who  served  as  clerk 
of  Hempstead  county  for  thirty  years.  He  now  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Washington.  He  moved  to  Little  Rock 
in  1856.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  in  1860;  was  elected  delegate  to  the  state  con- 
vention of  1861,  and,  although  opposed  to  secession,  acquiesced 
in  the  will  of  the  majority.  He  was  one  of  the  five  delegates 
to  the  provisional  Confederate  Congress,  which  met  at  Mont- 
gomery, Alabama,  in  May,  1861.  He  continued  a  member  of  the 
Confederate  Congress  until  the  close  of  the  war.  During  the 
last  six  months  of  the  war  he  was  a  senator.  After  the  war  he 
took  up  again  the  practice  of  law  at  Little  Rock,  but  under  the 
Act  of  Congress  of  January  24,  1865,  all  attorneys  who  had 
aided  and  abetted  the  Southern  Confederacy  were  prohibited 
from  practicing  unless  they  took  what  was  called  "the  iron-clad 
oath/'  Garland  opposed  this  law,  on  the  grounds  that  it  was 
"ex  post  facto"  in  its  application,  and  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  finally  decided  in  his  favor. 

Garland  was  the  first  governor  elected  under  the  constitution 
of  1874,  which  provided  for  a  term  of  two  years.  In  1877  he 


100  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

was  elected  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  Powell  Clayton.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  as  senator  he  was  re-elected  for  the 
term  beginning  on  March  4,  1883.  He  served  only  a  little  more 
than  a  year  of  his  second  term,  when  President  Cleveland  ap- 
pointed him  attorney-general  of  the  United  States — the  only 
Arkansan  who  has  held  a  cabinet  position.  At  the  close  of  Cleve- 
land's term  in  March,  1889,  Garland  returned  to  Arkan- 
sas and  practiced  law  until  his  death.  On  January 
26,  1899,  while  making  an*  argument  before  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  he  was  stricken  with  apoplexy  and 
died  in  the  court  room  a  few  minutes  later.  His  body  was  brought 
to  Little  Rock  and  buried  in  Mount  Holly  Cemetery  by  the  side 
of  his  wife,  wrho  died  in  1877.  In  1908  the  Arkansas  Gazette 
started  a  movement  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  over  Garland's 
last  resting  place.  The  people  of  Arkansas,  as  well  as  his  many 
friends  in  other  states,  responded  liberally,  and  the  monument — 
one  of  the  most  imposing  in  the  cemetery — was  dedicated  about 
a  year  later. 

Garland  was  a  man  of  plain  manners  and  simple  tastes.  Some 
years  before  his  death  he  purchased  a  plantation  of  12,000  acres, 
about  twelve  miles  from  Little  Rock,  and  conferred  upon  it  the 
homely  name  of  "Hominy  Hill."  While  serving  as  attorney- 
general,  he  often  told  his  friends  in  Washington  that  "Hominy 
Hill"  was  a  more  congenial  place  than  the  most  palatial  home 
in  the  national  capital. 

Twentieth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twentieth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
October  13,  1874.  The  Republicans,  though  they  held  a  party 
convention  on  September  15,  1874,  did  not  nominate  a  state 
ticket,  on  the  grounds  that  the  proposed  constitution  was  ille- 
gally framed.  But  the  Arkansas  Gazette  of  October  20,  1874, 
said: 

"Notwithstanding  the  Republicans  resolved  to  take  no  part 
in  the  election,  they  did  take  part,  and  run  tickets  in  every  county 
in  the  state  where  they  had  a  prospect  of  success,  and  in  three 
or  four  counties  have  succeeded  in  electing  them."  The  same 
paper  in  its  issue  of  October  14  said:  "Yesterday  was  a  red- 
letter  day  in  the  history  of  Arkansas — ra ,  day  worthy  of  being 
regarded  and  settled  upon  in  the  future  as  one  appropriate  for 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  101 

thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  for  the  restoration  of  their  liber- 
ties to  the  people  of  a  long  suffering  state."  And  again  on  the 
15th  The  Gazette  said:  "As  a  result  of  Tuesday's  election  an 
unaccustomed  feeling  of  most  profound  quiet,  security,  satisfac- 
tion and  confidence  for  the  future  pervades  the  breasts  of  the 
entire  community.  The  feeling  is  general  that  the  days  of  cor- 
ruption in  office,  the  supremacy  of  indigence  and  ignorance  over 
worth  and  intelligence,  the  subordination  of  agriculture,  trade, 
manufactures  and  every  professional  and  business  interests  as 
secondary  in  importance  to  the  schemes  and  ends  of  adventurers 
and  politicians,  of  confiscatory  taxation,  have  ended  forever."  The 
whole  community  feels  that  the  ship  of  state  has  left  a  stormy 
and  tempest-tossed  sea  and  entered  into  a  peaceful  haven." 

Thus  the  constitution  of  1874,  framed  and  adopted  by  the 
native  white  population,  was  ratified  almost  without  opposition. 
Also,  the  General  Assembly  elected  on  the  same  day  was  over- 
whelmingly Democratic. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene. 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  E.  F.  Browe;  Second  (Randolph, 
Lawrence  and  Sharp),  Lewis  Williams;  Third  (Carroll,  Boone 
and  Newton),  Bradley  Bunch;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
C.  E.  Tobey;  Fifth  (Washington),  B.  F.  Walker;  Sixth  (Inde- 
pendence and  Stone),  L.  H.  Sims;  Seventh  (Woodruff,  St.  Fran- 
cis, Cross  and  Crittenden),  J.  M.  Pollard;  Eighth  (Yell  and  Sar- 
ber),  J.  W.  Toomer;  Ninth  (Saline,  Garland,  Hot  Spring  and 
Grant),  Hugh  McCallum;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  J.  M. 
Loughborough,  W.  H.  Blackwell ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  George 
Haycock;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  W.  F.  Hicks;  Thir- 
teenth (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  William  Black;  Fourteenth 
(Phillips  and  Lee),  J.  W.  Williams;  Fifteenth  (Chicot  and 
Desha),  X.  J.  Pindall ;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Dorsey  and  Dallas), 
Thomas  Fletcher;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Ashley),  G.  W.  Nor- 
man: Eighteenth  (LTnion  and  Bradley),  B.  M.  W.  Warren; 
Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  C.  Thrower;  Twentieth 
(Hempstead  and  Nevada),  James  K.  Jones  ;  Twenty-first  (Colum- 
bia and  Lafayette),  J.  G.  Johnson;  Twenty-second  (Little  River, 
Sevier,  Howard  and  Polk),  B.  F.  Forney;  Twenty-third  (Fulton, 
Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  D.  G.  Hart;  Twenty-fourth  (Ben- 
ton  and  Madison),  C.  J.  Reagan;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and 
Franklin),  Jesse  Turner;  Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway 


102  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

and  Searcy),  John  Campbell;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and 
Faulkner),  J.  W.  House;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott), 
J.  F.  Wheeler;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Missis- 
sippi), J.  T.  Henderson;  Thirtieth  (Clarke,  Pike  and  Mont- 
gomery), O.  D.  East. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :     Arkansas  county,  R.  C. 
Chancy;  Ashley,  J.   D.   Bragg;   Baxter,   R.   D.   Casey;   Benton, 
James  Putman,  J.  H.  Rice;  Boone,  J.  N.  Coffey;  Bradley,  Solo- 
mon   Gardner;    Calhoun,    Mose'  Hill;   Carroll,    H.    M.    Moore; 
Chicot,  F.  G.  Davis;  Clark,  A.  N.  Wier,  J.  O.  Browning;  Clay, 
E.  B.  Headlee;  Columbia,  J.  T.  Poe,  Baley  Baker;  Conway,  J.  P. 
Venable;  Craighead,  J.  S.  Anderson;  Crawford,  James  Greig; 
Crittenden,  W.  L.  Copeland;  Cross,  G.  M.  Sharp;  Dallas,  W.  C. 
Barrett ;  Desha,  J.  A.  Robinson ;  Dorsey,  B.  B.  Martin ;  Drew, 
D.   S.  Wells;  Faulkner,  S.  B.   Burns;  Franklin,  A.  D.   Sadler; 
Fulton,  E.  D.  Rhea;  Garland,  J.  J.  Gillis;  Grant,  W.  N.  Cleve- 
land ;  Greene,  W.  E.  Powell ;  Hempstead,  J.  Hannah,  J.  E.  Bos- 
tic  ;  Hot  Spring,  A.  A.  Pennington ;  Howard,  O.  P.  Anderson ; 
Independence,  T.  J.  Morgan,  J.  S.  Trimble;  Izard,  E.  O.  Wolf; 
Jackson,  W.  M.  Baird ;  Jefferson,  L.  B.  Batson,  L.  J.  Maxwell, 
Ned  Hill ;  Johnson,  J .  S.  Green ;  Lafayette  and  Miller,  Thomas 
Or;  Lawrence,  J.  B.  Judkins ;  Lee,  P.  Polk,  H.  P.  Slaughter; 
Lincoln,  B.  F.  Sanders;  Little  River,  John  B.  Durham;  Lonoke, 
W.  L.  Frazier,  J.  H.  Bradford ;  Madison,  W.  C.  Cluck ;  Marion, 
W.  B.  Flippin :  Monroe,  F.  W.  Robinson;  Montgomery,  Alfred 
Jones ;  Mississippi,  J.  J.  Ruddell ;  Nevada,  William  L.  Bright ; 
Newton,  J.  H.  T.  Dodson ;  Quachita,  J.  B.  Rumph,  W.  F.  Avera; 
Perry,  M.  G.  Smyers;  Pike,  W.  Howard;  Phillips,  Toney  Gris- 
som,  A.  H.  Miller,  Perry  Coleman ;  Poinsett,  T.  J.  McClelland; 
Polk,  Calvin  Cochran ;  Pope,  N.  D.  Shinn ;  Pulaski,  R.  A.  Little, 
C.  S.  Collins,  R.  C.  Wall,  H.  Wildberger ;  Prairie,  J.  D.  Booe ; 
Randolph,  James  Dodson ;   Saline,   Alex  Russell ;   Sarber,   Seth 
Spangles;  Scott,  I.  Frank  Fuller;  Searcy,  James  H.  Love;  Sebas- 
tian,  R.   H.  McConnell,  R.  T.  Kerr;   Sevier,  L.   H.   Norwood; 
Sharp,   Joshua  Wann ;   St.   Francis,   George   P.   Taylor ;   Stone, 
J.  M.  Foster ;  Union,  J.  M.  McRea,  J.  B.  Moore ;  Van  Buren, 
Jesse  Witt;  Washington,  W.  F.  Dowell,  J.  S.  Williams,  T.  J. 
Patten ;  White,  T.  W.  Wells,  T.  C.  Humphrey;  Woodruff,  W.  P. 
Moore;  Yell,  A.  M.  Fulton. 

As  specialy  provided  for  by  the  constitution  of  1874,  mem- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  103 

bers  of  the  twentieth  General  Assembly  met  in  regular  session 
November  10,  1874.  Bradley  Bunch  was  elected  president  of  the 
senate;  Thomas  W.  Newton,  secretary.  A.  A.  Pennington  was 
speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  W.  Gaulding,  clerk. 

Owing  to  the  many  rumors  which  were  in  circulation  to  the 
effect  that  a  movement  of  some  sort  was  on  foot  to  prevent  the 
inauguration  of  Garland  as  governor,  he  and  the  rest'  of  the 
newly  elected  state  officers  "entered  on  the  discharge  of  their 
duties,"  as  the  Arkansas  Gazette  of  November  13  announced, 
"without  ceremony  and  unexpected  to  the  general  public,  about 
nine  o'clock  yesterday  morning."  There  had  been,  it  seems,  vague 
hints  of  plans  maturing  to  assassinate  Garland.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  the  fact  is  that  Volney  V.  Smith,  a  carpetbagger  and  a 
leader  of  the  radical  Republican  element,  who  had  served  as  lieu- 
tenant-governor under  Governor  Baxter,  did  issue  a  proclama- 
tion in  which  he  charged  that  the  constitution  of  1874  had  been 
illegally  adopted ;  that  the  Garland  government  set  up  under  it, 
with  the  connivance  of  Elisha  Baxter,  who  had  abandoned  the 
office  of  governor,  was  illegal  and,  in  effect,  revolutionary.  And 
he  (Smith),  as  the  duly  elected  lieutenant-governor  under  the 
constitution  of  1868,  proposed  to  take  such  steps  as  might  prove 
necessary  "to  restore  the  lawful  authority  of  the  state."  He, 
according  to  Smith,  was  the  "lawful"  governor;  accordingly,  he 
commanded  Governor  Garland  to  turn  over  the  office  to  him 
within  five  days.  A  copy  of  Smith's  proclamation  having  come 
into  the  possession  of  Garland,  the  latter  caused  warrants  to  be 
issued  for  the  arrest  of  Smith  and  some  of  his  associates  for 
conspiracy,"  to  seize,  usurp  and  overthrow  the  state  government." 

In  a  special  message  to  the  General  Assembly  on  November 
16  Governor  Garland  said  he  had  offered  a  reward  of  $200.00 
for  the  arrest  of  Smith  and  asked  for  the  necessary  legal 
authority  to  increase  the  amount.  Although  'the  reward  was 
offered,  Smith  succeeded  in  escaping  arrest.  Unable  to  get  the 
military  aid  which  he  sought  of  the  Federal  government,  he 
became  an  object  of  general  contempt  and  soon  left  Arkansas  to 
accept  an  appointment  by  President  Grant  as  consul  to  the  Island 
of  St.  Thomas.  That  the  influence  of  Powell  Clayton,  who  was 
still  United  States  Senator,  procured  Smith  the  appointment 
there  is  scarcely  any  doubt. 


104  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 


The  twentieth  General  Assembly  ordered  an  investigation  of 
the  financial  condition  of  the  state,  the  results  of  which  were 
embodied  in  a  joint  resolution  adopted  January  18,  1875.  Thus 
it  was  published  to  the  world  that  when  Governor  Clayton  was 
inaugurated  on  July  2,  1868,  the  bonded  debt  of  the  state  was 
$3,252,401.50  and  there  was  then  a  cash  balance  in  the  treasury 
of  $319,237.35.  When  Garland  came  into  office  the  debt  was 
$17,302,677.14  and  the  treasury  was  empty.  During  the  six 
years  of  the  carpetbag  regime,  from  1868  to  1874,  the  annual 
cost  of  maintaining  the  state  government  was  more  than  one 
million  dollars — at  least  three  times  as  much  as  it  should  have 
cost. 

During  the  regular  session  of  this  General  Assembly,  bonds 
to  the  amount  of  $80,000.00  were  authorized,  to  pay  the  milita 
organized  by  Governor  Baxter;  to  encourage  industry,  manufac- 
turers of  cotton  and  woolen  goods,  farming  implements,  cotton 
seed  oil  and  leather,  and  smelting  furnaces  were  exempted  from 
taxation  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  provided  each  establish- 
ment claiming  exemption  had  a  capital  of  $2,000.00  or  more 
invested ;  the  amount  of  reward  that  could  be  offered  by  the  gov- 
ernor, in  cases  of  felony,  was  increased  to  $1,000.00;  a  vote  of 
thanks  was  given  Governor  Baxter,  and  a  joint  resolution 
endorsed  the  action  of  Governor  Garland  in  the  Smith  matter. 
The  session  adjourned  on  March  5,  1875,  to  meet  again  on  the 
1st  of  the  following  November. 

At  the  adjourned  session,  which  lasted  from  November  1. 
1875,  until  December  15,  1875,  Acts  were  passed  to  fix  the  time 
of  holding  the  sessions  of  the  General  Assembly  on  the  second 
Monday  in  January,  1877,  and  on  the  same  day  every  two  years 
thereafter ;  to  repeal  the  Ku-Klux  law ;  to  redistrict  the  state  for 
congressional  purposes ;  to  authorize  a  loan  for  the  current  ex- 
penses of  the  state  government;  and  to  appropriate  $15,000.00 
for  a  proper  representation  of  the  state  at  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition in  celebration  of  the  signing  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. (See  High  Lights.) 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  105 

WILLIAM  REED  MILLER 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  11,  1877 — JANUARY  13,  1881 

William  Reed  Miller,  the  twelfth  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  a  member  of  one  of  the  well-known  pioneer  fam- 
ilies. He  was  the  first  native  Arkansan  to  be  elected  to  the  office 
of  chief  executive.  His  grandfather,  Simon  Miller,  came  to 
Arkansas  from  Virginia  in  1814,  while  it  was  a  part  of  Missouri 
Territory.  With  him  came  his  son  John,  the  father  of  William 
R.,  who  was  born  in  Bedford  county,  Virginia,  in  1787.  He 
married  Miss  Clara  Moore,  a  native  of  Vermont,  and  became  an 
active  participant  in  political  affairs  of  Arkansas  about  the  time 
that  the  state  was  admitted  into  the  Union.  In  1840  he  was  one 
of  the  Democratic  presidential  electors  and  as  such  voted  for 
Martin  Van  Buren.  From  1846  to  1848  he  was  register  of  the 
United  States  land  office  at  Batesville. 

William  R.  Miller  was  born  at  Batesville,  November  27,  1823. 
Until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  lived  on  the  farm, 
attending  school  as  opportunity  offered,  though  much  of  his 
early  education  was  acquired  under  the  teaching  of  his  mother, 
who  was  a  well  educated  \voman.  '"Billy"  Miller,  as  he  was  com- 
monly called,  was  an  ambitious  youngster,  and  somewhat  pre- 
cocious withal.  An  instance  of  his  precocity  is  cited  in  connec- 
tion with  the  political  campaign  of  1836.  "Billy,"  then  a  boy 
of  thirteen  years,,  saw  C.  F.  M.  Noland,  an  enthusiastic  Whig, 
on  the  street  in  Batesville,  and  shouted:  "Hurrah  for  Van 
Buren!"  To  this  Mr.  Noland  replied:  "Hurrah  for  a  jackass!" 
The  boy  promptly  came  back  with :  "That's  right,  Fent ;  you 
holler  for  your  candidate  and  I'll  holler  for  mine." 

Some  of  the  neighbors  predicted  that  "Billy"  Miller  would 
"come  to  some  bad  end,"  while  other  scoffed  at  the  idea,  and 
declared  "He  will  be  governor."  Back  of  all  his  boyish  pranks, 
which  caused  some  people  to  wag  their  heads  and  declare  "holy 
terrer,"  there  was  a  determination  to  succeed.  By  close  appli- 
cation to  his  studies  and  making  the  most  of  his  opportunities,  he 
acquired  a  practical  education.  In  1848,  when  only  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  Independence  county  and 
served  until  1854.  Governor  Elias  N.  Conway  appointed  him 
state  auditor  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resignation  of  C.  C. 
Danley  in  1854.  The  next  year  Conway  appointed  him  an  ac- 


106  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

countant  of  the  Real  Estate  Bank.  In  that  position  he  demon- 
strated not  only  his  skill  as  a  bookkeeper,  but  also  his  sterling 
integrity. 

In  1856  he  was  elected  state  auditor;  was  re-elected  at  each 
succeeding  biennial  election  until  1864.  He  did  not  serve  the 
last  of  these  terms,  because  the  Murphy  government  was  estab- 
lished April,  1864,  whereupon  he  turned  the  office  over  to  James 
R.  Berry.  Two  years  later  he  defeated  Berry  for  the  office  and 
served  until  ousted  under  the  -constitution  of  1868.  He  was 
then  admitted  to  the  bar  and  practiced  law  at  Batesville  until 
1874,  when  he  was  again  elected  state  auditor.  In  1876  he  was 
elected  governor  and  was  re-elected  in  1878,  serving  two  full 
terms,  or  four  years  in  all.  Upon  retiring  from  the.  governor's 
office  he  returned  to  Batesville  and  made  his  home  there  until 
again  elected  state  auditor  in  1886.  He  died  November  29,  1887, 
before  the  expiration  of  his  term. 

On  January  27,  1849,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Susan  E. 
Bevans,  daughter  of  Judge  William  C.  Bevans,  of  Batesville,  and 
to  this  union  were  born  two  sons  and  five  daughters. 

Twenty-First  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-first  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  4,  1876.     Of  those  elected,  there  were  only  eighteen 
Republicans,  a  majority  of  whom  were  in  the  house.     Five  of 
those  elected  by  the  Republicans  were  negroes. 

Those  elected  to  the  senate  were:  Eirst  District  (Greene, 
Claighead  and  Clay  counties).  B.  H.  Crowley ;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  Joseph  B.  Judkins ;  Third  (Carroll, 
Boone  and  Newton),  Bradley  Bunch;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Pope),  Charles  E.  Robey ;  Fifth  (Washington),  A.  M.  \Vilson  ; 
Sixth  ( Independence  and  Stone),  L.  H.  Sims;  Seventh  (Wood- 
ruff, St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  C.  L.  Sullivan,  vice 
T.  M.  Pollard,  deceased;  Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  B.  B.  Chism  ; 
Ninth  (Saline,  Garland,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  A.  A.  Pen- 
nington  ;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  Samuel  W.  Williams,  vice 
James  M.  Loughborough,  deceased,  W.  H.  Blackwell ;  Eleventh 
(Jefferson),  George  Haycock;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie), 
W.  F.  Hicks;  Thirteenth  (Monroe  and  Arkansas),  A.  H.  Fer- 
guson; Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  A.  L.  Stanford;  Fifteenth 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  107 

(Desha  and  Chicot),  X.  J.  Pindall ;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Dorsey 
and  Dallas),  M.  M.  Duftie ;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Ashley), 
G.  W.  Norman;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  J.  R.  Hamp- 
ton; Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  C.  Thrower;  Twen- 
tieth (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  J.  K.  Jones;  Twenty-first 
(Columbia  and  Lafayette),  James  G.  Johnson;  Twenty-second 
(Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard  and  Polk),  M.  J.  Mulkey; 
Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  H.  C.  Tip- 
ton;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Madison),  C.  G.  Reagan; 
Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  H.  B.  Armistead; 
Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and  Searcy),  John  Camp- 
bell; Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  J.  W.  House; 
twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  R.  T.  Kerr;  Twenty-ninth 
(Jackson,  Mississippi  and  Poinsett),  Benjamin  Harris;  Thirtieth 
(Clark,  Pike  and  Montgomery),  O.  D.  East. 

The  members  of  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Robert 
C.  Chancy;  Ashley,  Hogan  Allen;  Baxter,  V.  B.  Tate;  Benton, 
J.  Dunigan,  E.  P.  Watson ;  Bradley,  John  R.  Barnett ;  Boone, 
R.  B.  Weaver:  Carroll,  W.  S.  Poyner :  Calhoun,  Moses  Hill; 
Chicot,  T.  E.  Willing;  Clark,  H.  H.  Colrman,  Alf  J.  Hearne ; 
Clay,  E.  B.  Headlee ;  Columbia,  D.  L.  Kilgore,  W.  H.  C.  Reid ; 
Conway,  E.  P.  Hervey;  Craighead,  W.  Mooney;  Crawford,  J.  J. 
Warren ;  Crittenden,  James  Wofford ;  Cross,  Britton  Roleson ; 
Dallas,  Robert  Martin;  Desha,  S.  J.  Peoples;  Dorsey,  W.  H. 
Blankenship ;  Drew,  James  R.  Cothman ;  Faulkner,  Jesse  E.  Mar- 
tin ;  Franklin,  T.  D.  Berry ;  Fulton,  James  F.  Cunningham ;  Gar- 
land, H.  M.  Rector,  Jr. ;  Grant,  T.  B.  Morton ;  Greene,  Jason  H. 
Hunter;  Hempstead,  James  A.  Williamson,  George  H.  Andrews; 
Hot  Spring,  J.  S.  Williams ;  Howard,  R.  L.  Duncan ;  Indepen- 
dence, T.  J.  Stubbs,  E.  C.  Gray;  Izard,  John  W.  C.  Hardner; 
Jackson,  J.  A.  Stinson ;  Jefferson,  C.  H.  Rice,  Anderson  Ebber- 
son,  William  Murphy ;  Johnson,  A.  S.  McKennon ;  Lafayette 
and  Miller,  Henry  F.  Best ;  Lawrence,  John  K.  Gibson ;  Lee, 
Patrick,  Price,  Crockett  Brown  ;  Lincoln,  T.  H.  Sawyer ;  Little 
River.  John  B.  Durham ;  Logan,  B.  Priddy ;  Lonoke,  J.  P.  Eagle, 
A.  D.  Lawhorn ;  Madison,  M.  F.  Sams ;  Marion,  J.  F.  Wilson ; 
Mississippi,  J.  H.  Williams;  Monroe,  J.  K.  Whitson ;  Mont- 
gomery, William  R.  Cubage ;  Nevada,  Thomas  C.  McRae ;  New- 
ton, William  R.  Lee;  Ouachita,  W. 'F.  Avera,  L.  W.  Matthews; 
Perry,  Jesse  H.  Jones;  Phillips,  Berry  Coleman,  J.  M.  Donohue, 


108  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

T.  M.  Jacks;  Pike,  B.  D.  Brock;  Poinsett,  L.  B.  Cobb;  Polk, 
Joseph  G.  McLeod;  Pope,  Lewis  W.  Davis;  Prairie,  J.  S. 
Thomas ;  Pulaski,  W.  C.  Ratcliffe,  M.  J.  McHenry,  Z.  P.  L.  Farr, 
E.  H.  Maynard;  Randolph,  Peter  M.  Pierce;  Saline,  Isaac  Har- 
rison ;  Scott,  James  H.  Smith ;  Searcy,  A.  Davis ;  Sebastian ; 
William  Fishback,  C.  Milor;  Sevier,  N.  P.  Floyd;  Sharp,  Sam 
H.  Davidson;  St.  Francis,  R.  W.  Peevy;  Stone,  J.  M.  Foster; 
Union,  B.  W.  M,  Warren,  A.  S.  Morgan;  Van  Buren,  V.  B.  Jen- 
nings ;  Washington,  T.  W.  Thomason,  W.  C.  Braley,  C.  W. 
Walker;  White,  T.  W.  Well's,  W.  E.  Fisher,  Woodruff,  T.  E. 
Stanley;  Yell,  Joseph  T.  Harrison. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  8,  1877.  James  K. 
Jones  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  Jacob  Frolich,  sec- 
retary. D.  L.  Kilgore  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Thomas  W. 
Newton,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  8,  1877. 

January  16,  1877,  Augustus  H.  Garland  was  elected  United 
States  senator,  to  succeed  Powel  Clayton,  for  the  term  begin- 
ning on  March  4,  1877.  Garland  received  113  votes  on  joint  bal- 
lot to  eight  votes  for  T.  D.  W.  Yonley.  Of  the  eighteen  Repub- 
licans in  the  General  Assembly,  ten  voted  for  Garland.  Five 
of  these  were  colored  men.  Most  of  the  Republicans  who  sup- 
ported Garland  gave  as  their  reason  that  the  progress  made  by 
the  state  during  the  two  years  while  he  was  governor  warranted 
them  in  assisting  to  send  him  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

This  General  Assembly  continued  the  policy  of  its  immediate 
predecessor,  by  enacting  laws  calculated  further  to  restore  the 
state  to  its  normal  condition  of  prosperity  and  to  correct  the 
abuses  of  the  Reconstruction  period.  Taxes  were  reduced,  lib- 
eral appropriations  were  made  for  the  maintenance  of  the  pub- 
lic institutions,  the  commissioner  of  state  lands  was  authorized 
to  sell  the  property  formerly  belonging  to  the  Institute  for  the 
Blind  at  Arkadelphia,  and  counties  were  authorized  to  issue  new 
bonds  to  fund  outstanding  indebtedness. 

Twenty-Second  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-second  General  Asembly  were  elected 
September  2,  1878.     Upon  a  joint  ballot  of  trie  two  houses,  the 
Republicans  were  able  to  muster  only  about  a  dozen  votes. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:     First  District   (Greene, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  109 

Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  B.  H.  Crowley;  Second  (Carroll, 
Boone  and  Newton),  W.  W.  Watkins;  Third  (Randolph,  Law- 
rence and  Sharp),  J.  B.  Judkins;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
John  F.  Hill;  Fifth  (Washington),  A.  M.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Inde- 
pendence and  Stone),  James  Rutherford;  Seventh  (Woodruff, 
St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  R.  J.  Williams;  Eighth 
(Yell-  and  Logan),  B.  B.  Chism;  Ninth  (Saline,  Garland,  Hot 
Spring  and  Grant),  A.  A.  Pennington;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
Perry),  W.  L.  Terry,  E.  D.  Boyd;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  H. 
King  White;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  J.  E.  Gatewood; 
Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  A.  H.  Ferguson;  Four- 
teenth (Phillips  and  Lee),  A.  L.  Stafford;  Fifteenth  (Desha  and 
Chicot),  Charles  H.  Carlton ;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Dorsey  and 
Dallas),  M.  M.  Duffie;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Ashley),  T.  M. 
Whittington;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  J.  R.  Hamp- 
ton; Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  J.  R.  Thornton; 
Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  C.  E.  Mitchell;  Twenty-first 
(Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  W.  H.  C.  Reid;  Twenty-sec- 
ond (Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard  and  Polk),  M.  K.  Mulkey; 
Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  H.  C.  Tip- 
ton;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Madison),  E.  P.  Watson; 
Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  H.  B.  Armistead; 
Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and  Searcy),  W.  S.  Adams; 
Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  J.  W.  Duncan;  Twenty- 
eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  R.  T.  Kerr;  Twenty-ninth  (Poin- 
sett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  Benjamin  Harris;  Thirtieth 
(Clark,  Pike  and  Montgomery),  C.  A.  Gantt. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  C.  B. 
Brinkley ;  Ashley,  E.  L.  Lowe;  Baxter,  V.  B.  Tate;  Benton,  D.  H. 
Williams.  W.  M.  Keith;  Boone,  W.  S.  Black;  Bradley,  J.  R. 
Barnett;  Calhoun,  O.  P.  H.  Richardson;  Carroll^  J.  G.  Morris; 
Chicot,  J.  H.  Dickinson;  Clark,  J.  W.  Miller,  W.  H.  Weir; 
Clay,  Green  B.  Hollifield ;  Columbia,  J.  C.  Walker,  J.  E.  Askew  ; 
Conway,  Lewis  Miller;  Craighead,  S.  A.  Warren,  Jr.;  Craw- 
ford, David  H.  Creckmore;  Crittenden,  A.  C.  Brewer;  Cross, 
T.  E.  Hare;  Dallas,  William  Owens ;  Desha,  L.  A.  Pindall ;  Dor- 
sey, E.  L.  McMurtry;  Drew,  D.  E.  Barker;  Faulkner,  Joseph 
Roden;  Franklin,  Elias  Turner;  Fulton,  J.  M.  Archer;  Garland, 
W.  H.  Barry;  Grant,  L.  H.  Kemp;  Greene,  J.  E.  Riddick  ,  vice 
W.  P.  Steele,  deceased;  Hempstead,  J.  D.  Conway,  A.  W.  Hob- 


110  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

son;  Hot  Spring,  G.  W.  Holder;  Howard,  William. J.  Lee;  Inde- 
pendence, J.  G.  Martin,  T.  J.  Stubbs ;  Izard,  W.  E.  Davidson; 
Jackson,  Charles  Minor;  Jefferson,  J.  A.  Hudson,  R.  A.  Daw- 
son,  W.  C.  Payne;  Johnson,  Louis  Felton ;  Lafayette  and  Miller, 
J.  C.  Tyson;  Lawrence,  R.  P.  Mack;  Lee,  James  P.  Brown, 
W.  H.  Furbush ;  Lincoln,  John  G.  Simmons ;  Little  River,  G.  D. 
Britt ;  Logan,  B.  Priddy ;  Lonoke,  J.  M.  King,  A.  W.  Bumpass ; 
Madison,  W.  C.  Cluck ;  Marion,  W.  B.  Flippin ;  Mississippi. 
John  O.  Blackwood;  Monroe.  Lecil  Bobo ;  Montgomery,  J.  H. 
Demby ;  Nevada,  John  F.  Loudermilk ;  Newton,  W.  R.  Lee ; 
Ouachita,  John  T.  Bearden,  O.  A.  Greening;  Perry,  G.  Thomas 
Holmes;  Phillips,  Greenfield  Quarles,  Thomas  B.  Hanley,  W.  R. 
Burke;  Pike,  H.  W.  Carter;  Poinsett,  R.  Joyner ;  Polk,  E.  H. 
Jordon;  Pope,  E.  L.  McCracken;  Prairie,  J.  S.  Thomas;  Pulaski, 
W.  J.  Murphy,  E.  L.  Maynard,  Isaac  Gilliam,  Martin  Sinnott ; 
Randolph,  R.  H.  Black ;  Saline,  Isaac  Harrison ;  Scott,  A.  G. 
Washburn;  Searcy,  Isaac  Burns;  Sebastian,  W.  N.  Fishback, 
R.  H.  McConnell;  Sevier,  Cyrus  H.  Holman;  Sharp,  S.  H. 
Davidson;  St.  Francis,  George  P.  Taylor;  Stone,  J.  H.  Morris: 
Union,  M.  L.  Jamison,  J.  C.  Wright;  Van  Buren,  James  H. 
Frazer ;  Washington,  W.  C.  Braley,  W.  T.  Walker,  E.  B.  Moore ; 
White,  L.  N.  Brown,  W.  R.  Coody;  Woodruff,  T.  E.  Stanley; 
Yell,  George  S.  Cunningham. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  13,  1879.  M.  M.  Duffie 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  L.  T.  Kretchmar,  secretary. 
J.  T.  Bearden  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  John  G.  Holland,  clerk. 
The  session  lasted  until  March  13,  1879. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  this  General  Assembly  to  elect  one  United 
States  Senator,  a  successor  to  Stephen  Wr.  Dorsey,  whose  term 
expired  March  4,  1879.  Robert  W.  Johnson,  j.  D.  Walker, 
M.  L.  Bell  and  A.  W.  Bishop  were  put  in  nomination.  Seven 
ballots  were  required  to  elect.  On  the  seventh,  J.  D.  Walker 
received  sixty-eight  votes,  six  more  than  the  necessary  majority, 
and  was  declared  elected. 

In  order  to  hasten  the  material  development  of  the  state,  this 
Assembly  passed  several  Acts  which  were  intended  to  encourage 
the  building  of  railroads.  Certain  swamp  and  overflowed  lands 
forfeited  to  the  state  for  non-payment  of  taxes,  situate  in  the 
counties  of  Calhoun,  Clark,  Dallas  and  Ouachita,  were  donated 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  111 

to  the  Ouachita  Valley  Railroad  Company,  to  aid  in  the  con- 
struction of  a  railway  from  Arkadelphia  to  a  point  on  the 
Ouachita  river  opposite  Camden.  All  forfeited  lands  in  Hemp- 
stead  county  were  donated  to  the  Washington  &  Hope  Railroad 
Company.  The  forfeited  lands  in  Benton,  Madison  and  Wash- 
ington counties  were  donated  "to  any  railroad  company  now 
formed,  who  will  first  complete  a  railroad  from  the  north  boun- 
dary line  of  the  state  to  the  city  of  Fayetteville."  Lands  lying 
in  Cross,  Lee,  Phillips  and  Poinsett  counties,  forfeited  to  the 
state  for' non-payment  of  taxes,  were  donated  to  the  Iron  Moun- 
tain &  Helena  Railroad  Company.  All  lands  in  the  even  num- 
bered sections  in  the  counties  of  Drew,  Lincoln  and  Jefferson, 
forfeited  to  the  state  prior  to  the  year  1877,  and  all  swamp  and 
overflowed  lands  in  the  counties  of  Ashley  and  Lonoke,  were 
donated  to  the  Pine  Bluff  &  Monroe  Railroad  Company,  pro- 
vided a  certain  amount  of  road  was  completed  by  the  first  day 
of  January,  1883.  Forfeited  lands  in  the  counties  of  Drew, 
Lincoln  and  Jefferson,  as  well  as  certain  other  lands  belonging 
to  the  state,  were  donated  to  the  Little  Rock,  Mississippi  River 
&  Texas  Railway  Company.  All  these  donations  were  made 
tinder  prescribed  conditions. 

Clark  county  was  abolished  by  this  General  Assembly  and 
the  territory  attached  to  the  counties  of  Dallas  and  Nevada.  The 
state  was  redistricted  for  the  election  of  representatives  in  Con- 
gress. A  change  was  made  in  the  law  regulating  the  manner  in 
which  amendments  to  the  constitution  should  be  proposed. 
County  courts  were  authorized  to  divide  the  lands  subject  to 
overflow  into  levee  districts  and  provide  for  the  building  and 
repair  of  levees,  and  provisions  were  made  for  the  reduction 
of  the  outstanding  liabilities  of  the  state. 

The  most  important  and  far-reaching  Act  of  the  session  was 
the  proposed  amendment  to  the  constitution  prohibiting  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  from  levying  a  tax  or  making  any  appropriation 
to  pay  the  principal  or  interest  of  the  "Funding  Bonds,"  some- 
times called  the  "'Hoi ford  Bonds,"  and  certain  other  bonds.  This 
amendment,  proposed  by  joint  resolution,  became  effective  with- 
out the  signature  of  the  governor,  because  the  Assembly  ad- 
journed soon  after  its  adoption  and  Governor  Miller  failed  to 
return  it  with  his  objections,  if  he  had  any,  to  the  secretary  of 
state  within  the  specified  twenty  days  after  the  adjournment. 


112  OUTLINE   OF   EXECUTIVE 

THOMAS  JAMES  CHURCHILL 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  13,  1881 — JANUARY  13,  1883 

Thomas  James  Churchill,  thirteenth  governor  of  the  state  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  near  Louisville,  Kentucky,  March  10,  1824. 
He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  state  and 
at  St.  Mary's  College,  Bardstown,  Kentucky,  where  he  was  grau- 
uated  in  1844.  He  then  took  the  law  course  in  Translyvania 
University,  Lexington,  Kentucky.  When  war  against  Mexico 
was  declared  in  1846  he  enlisted  as  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Ken- 
tucky Mounted  Riflemen,  commanded  by  Colonel  Humphrey 
Marshall.  In  January,  1847,  he  was  one  of  a  scouting  party 
captured  near  Encarnacion  and  taken  to  the  City  of  Mexico. 
When  General  Winfield  Scott  was  advancing  upon  the  Mexican 
capital,  the  prisoners  there  were  taken  to  Toluca,  about  fifty 
miles  southwest  of  the  city,  and  were  there  exchanged,  but  not 
until  the  war  was  practically  over. 

After  the.  Mexican  Wrar,  Churchill  settled  in  Little  Rock.  On 
the  last  day  of  July,  1849,  he  married  Miss  Ann,  daughter  of 
Ambrose  H.  Sevier.  After  his  marriage  he  engaged  in  the  man- 
agement of  a  large  plantation  near  the  city.  In  1857  he  was 
appointed  postmaster  at  Little  Rock  by  President  James 
Buchanan,  which  position  he  held  until  1861.  At  the  beginning 
of  the  war  in  1861  he  raised  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  which  was 
mustered  into  the  Confederate  service  as  the  First  Arkansas 
Mounted  Riflemen,  and  of  which  he  was  made  colonel.  He  served 
with  distinction  to  the  close  of  the  war  and  by  successive  pro- 
motions reached  the  rank  of  major-general. 

In  the  Brooks-Baxter  war  of  1874  he  was  active  in  his  sup- 
port of  Baxter,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was  elected  state 
treasurer.  This  office  he  held  for  three  successive  terms,  until 
he  was  elected  governor.  He  served  but  one  term  as  governor, 
at  the  close  of  which  he  retired  to  private  life.  He  died  at  Little 
Rock  on  March  10,  1905. 

Twenty-Third  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-third  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  6,    1880.     The  number  of   Republicans  elected  was 
negligible. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  113 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  J.  C.  Hawthorne;  Second  (Ran-/ 
dolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  J.  B.  Judkins ;  Third  (Carroll, 
Boone  and  Newton),  W.  W.  Watkins;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Pope),  John  F.  Hill;  Fifth  (Washington),  J.  S.  Williams;  Sixth, 
(Independence  and  Stone),  James  Rutherford;  Seventh  (Wood- 
ruff, St.  Francis  and  Crittenden),  R.  J.  Williams;  Eighth  (Yell 
and  Logan),  J.  T.  Harrison;  Ninth  (Saline,  Garland  and  Hot 
Spring),  J.  S.  Williams-;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Prairie),  W.  L. 
Terry,  E.  D.  Boyd ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  N.  T.  White;  Twelfth 
(Lonoke  and  Perry),  J.  E.  Gatewood ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas 
and  Monroe),  Lecil  Bobo;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  H.  M. 
Grant:  Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  C.  H  .Carlton;  Sixteenth 
(Lincoln,  Dorsey  and  Dallas),  John  Niven;  Seventeenth  (Drew 
and  Ashley),  T.  M.  Whittington;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and 
Union),  B.  W.  M.  Warren;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita) 
J.  R.  Thornton;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  C.  E. 
Mitchell;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller), 
W.  H.  C.  Reid;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and 
Howard),  Pole  McPhetridge ;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Mad- 
ison), E.  P.  Watson;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin), 
H.  F.  Thomason;  Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and 
Searcy),  W.  S.  Hanna;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner), 
J.  W.  Duncan;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  J.  P.  Hall; 
Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  John  B. 
Driver;  Thirtieth  (Clark,  Pike  and  Montgomery),  C.  A.  Gantt. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were.  Arkansas  county,- R.  C. 
Chaney ;  Ashley,  A.  W.  Files ;  Baxter,  V.  B.  Tate ;  Benton,  E.  S. 
McDaniel,  J.  Dunagin;  Boone,  R.  B.  Weaver;  Bradley,  W.  H. 
Wheeler;  Calhoun,  J.  G.  Hill;  Carroll,  E.  J.  Black;  Chicot. 
James  F.  Robinson ;  Clark,  J.  F.  Biggs,  T.  J.  Clingan ;  Clay,  P.  H, 
Crenshaw;  Columbia,  R.  L.  Emmerson,  H.  T.  Hawkins;  Con- 
way,  E.  B.  Henry;  Crawford,  Robert  R.  Nettles;  Craighead, 
Joseph  A.  Meek ;  Crittenden,  R.  F.  Crittenden ;  Cross,  T.  E. 
Hare;  Dallas,  W.  C.  Barrett;  Desha,  L.  A.  Pindall ;  Dorsey,, 
N.  V.  Barnett;  Drew,  L.  E.  Baker;  Faulkner,  G.  W.  Bruce; 
Franklin,  I.  L.  Fielder;  Fulton,  J.  M.  Archer;  Garland,  W.  F. 
Clyde ;  Grant,  W.  N.  Cleveland ;  Greene,  J.  D.  Markham ;  Hemp- 
stead,  L.  D.  Beene,  J.  B.  Robbins ;  Hot  Spring,  S.  H.  Emerson ; 
Howard,  R.  D.  Owens ;  Independence,  F.  D.  Denton,  J.  M.  San- 


114  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

ders ;  Izard,  Thomas  Black;  Jackson,  T.  M.  Parish;  Jefferson, 
Carl  Polk,  W.  C.  Payne,  A.  Elberson  ;  Johnson,  F.  R.  McKen- 
non;  Lafayette  and  Miller,  L.  T.  Waller;  Lawrence,  George 
Thornburg;  Lee.  J.  M.  Hewitt,  G.  Marchbanks ;  Lincoln,  J.  Col- 
lins; Little  River,  G.  D.  Britt;  Logan,  J.  J.  Boles;  Lonoke, 
A.  D.  Turned,  G.  M.  Chapline ;  Madison,  Daniel  Boone;  Marion, 
F.  M.  Cash;  Montgomery,  A.  C.  King;  Mississippi,  H.  M.  Mc- 
Veigh; Monroe,  J.  K.  Whitson ;  Nevada,  John  A.  Ansley;  New- 
ton, J.  B.  Moss;  Ouachita,  O.  A.  Greening,  B.  F.  Riddick ; 
Perry,  James  A.  Brazil ;  Phillips,  G.  Quarles,  A.  G.  Jarman, 
J.  P.  Roberts;  Pike,  J.  A.  Davis ; .  Poinsett,  N.  J.  Willis;  Polk, 

A.  P.  Alexander;  Pope,  H.  Clabe  Howell ;  Prairie,  J.  G.  Thweatt; 
Pulaski,  W.  E.  Gray,,  B.  D.  Williams,  Wr.  I.  Warwick,  Casper 
Altenberg;  Saline,  J.  W.  Adams;  Scott,  F.  C.  Gaines ;  Searcy, 

B.  H.   Taylor;   Sebastian,   E.   F.   Tiller,  Jesse   Martin;    Sevier, 
R.  D.  Murphy ;  Sharp,  W.  A.  Turner ;  Stone,  B.  D.  Williamson ; 
St.  Francis,  John  Parham ;  Union,  R.  W.  Wallace,  A.  C.  Jones ; 
Washington,  E.  B.. Moore,  T.  W.  Thomason,  S.  E.  Marrs ;  White, 
W.   R.   Goody,  L.   N.   Brown;  Woodruff,  T.   E.   Stanley;  Yell, 
M.  L.  Davis. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  10,  1881.  H.  C.  Tipton 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  J.  G.  Holland,  secretary. 
George  Thornburg  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Paul  M.  Cobbs, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  19,  1891. 

The  amendment  to  repudiate  the  railroad  aid,  levee  and  Hoi- 
ford  bonds,  as  submitted  to  the  voters  by  the  General  Assembly 
of  1879,  was  declared  defeated  by  a  majority  of  3,991  in  the 
state  election  of  1880.  Owing  to  its  failure  of  adoption,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1881  passed  an  Act  which  provided  "That  from 
and  after  the  passage  of  this  Act,  the  auditor  and  treasurer  of 
state  are  not  required  to  report  the  Railroad  Aid  and  Levee 
Bonds,  and  what  are  known  as  the  Holford  Bonds,  as  part  of 
the  indebtedness  of  the  State  of  Arkansas  in  their  biennial  re- 
ports." Other  improtant  Acts  of  the  session  were:  Appro- 
priating $150,000.00  for  an  insane  asylum  and  levying  a  one- 
mill  tax  for  two  years  to  raise  that  amount ;  appropriating 
$10,000.00  for  a  branch  normal  school  (for  negroes)  at  Pine 
Bluff :  regulating  the  practice  of  medicine ;  creating  a  state  board 
of"  health ;  establishing  a  medical  department  of  the  University 
of  Arkansas ;  and  regulating  the  freight  and  passenger  rates  on 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  115 

railroads  of  fifty  miles  or  less  within  the  state.  A  joint  reso- 
lution favoring  a  farmers'  congress  and  suggesting  that  it  be 
held  in  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  October,  1881,  and  authorizing 
the  governor  to  appoint  one  delegate  from  each  of  the  congres- 
sional districts,  was  adopted.  Another  resolution  settled  the 
question  of  the  pronunciation  of  the  name  of  the  state,  by  pro- 
viding that  it  "should  be  pronounced  in  three  syllables,  with  the 
final  V  silent,  the  'a'  in  each  syllable  to  be  given  the  Italian 
sound,  and  with  the  accent  on  the  first  and  last  syllables. 


116  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

JAMES  HENDERSON  BERRY 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  13,  1883 — JANUARY  17,  1885 

James  Henderson  Berry,  fourteenth  governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  was  born  in  Jackson  county,  Alabama,  May  15, 
1841,  son  of  James  M.  and  Isabella  (Orr)  Berry.  In  1848  he 
came  with  his  parents  to  Arkansas.  They  settled  in  Carroll 
county,  upon  or  near  the  site  of  what  is  now  the  town  of  Berry- 
ville.  He  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Berry- 
ville  Academy.  Upon  leaving  school  he  was  clerk  in  a  store  for 
a  year  or  more.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1861  he  enlisted 
in  Company  E,  Sixteenth  Arkansas  Infantry,  and  was  later  com- 
missioned second  lieutenant.  At  the  battle  of  Corinth,  Missis- 
sippi, on  October  4,  1862,  he  lost  a  leg  and  was  honorably  dis- 
charged. 

He  then  returned  to  Arkansas,  where,  for  a  time,  he  taught 
school.  While  teaching  at  Ozark  he  began  in  his  spare  time  the 
study  of  law.  In  October,  1866,  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
by  Thomas  Boles,  Judge  of  the  Fourth  Circuit.  He  was  elected 
to  the  house  of  representatives  from  Carroll  county  in  1866.  In 
December,  1869,  he  removed  to  Bentonville,  where  he  formed  a 
law  partnership  with  his  brother-in-law,  Samuel  W.  Peel.  In 
1872  he  was  again  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from 
the  district  composed  of  Benton  and  Washington  counties.  At 
the  special  session  of  1874  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  the  house. 

He  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Fourth  Circuit  in  1878  and 
served  on  the  bench  until  elected  governor  in  1882.  When 
Augustus  H.  Garland  was  appointed  attorney-general  of  the 
United  States  in  March,  1885,  Berry  was  elected  United  States 
Senator  for  the  unexpired  term.  He  was  re-elected  senator  in 
1889,  in  1895  and  again  in  1901,  but  was  defeated  by  Jeff  Davis 
in  1907. 

In  October,  1865,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lizzie  Quaile, 
daughter  of  Frederick  Quaile,  of  Ozark.  Her  father  was 
opposed  to  the  marriage,  because  his  prospective  son-in-law  had 
no  means  of  support,  and  for  several  years  would  not  speak  to 
him,  but  friendly  relations  were  finally  restored.  He  died  at 
his  home  in  Bentonville  January  30,  1913,  leaving  a  widow,  two 
sons  and  two  daughters. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  117 

Twenty-Fourth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-fourth  General  Assembly  were 
elected  September  4,  1882.  Except  for  two  Greenbackers  and 
one  Republican,  the  senators  were  all  Democrats.  There  were 
thirten  Republicans  and  two  Greenbackers  elected  to  the  house. 
The  rest  were  Democrats. 

-The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  J.  C.  Hawthorne;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  J.  B.  Judkins;  Third  (Carroll 
Boone  and  Newton),  R.  B.  Weaver;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Pope),  B.  T.  Fmbry;  Fifth  (Washington),  Thomas  Wain- 
wright;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  B.  F.  Williamson; 
Seventh  (Woodruff,  St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  R.  F. 
Crittenden ;  Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  J.  T.  Harrison;  Ninth 
(Saline,  Garland,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  J.  S.  Williams; 
Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  L.  L.  Thompson,  G.  T.  Holmes: 
Eleventh  (Jefferson),  N.  T.  White;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prai- 
rie), W.  F.  Hicks;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  Lecil 
Bobo;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  H.  M.  Grant;  Fifteenth 
(Desha  and  Chicot),  Henry  Thane;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Dor- 
sey  and  Dallas),  John  Nivens ;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Ashley), 
J.  W.  Van  Gilder;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  B.  W.  M. 
Warren;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  arid  Ouachita),  J.  R.  Thornton; 
Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  C.  M.  Norwood;  Twenty- 
first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  L.  T.  Walker;  Twenty- 
second  (Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard  and  Polk),  Pole  McPhet- 
ridge;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  H.  C. 
Tipton;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Madison),  J.  T.  Walker; 
Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  H.  F.  Thomason ; 
Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and  Searcy),  Z.  B.  Jen- 
nings; Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  T.  W.'" Wells; 
Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  J.  P.  Hall;  Twenty-ninth 
(Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  John  B.  Driver;  Thirtieth 
(Clark,  Pike  and  Montgomery),  Jesse  A.  Ross. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  A.  D. 
Matthews;  Ashley,  W.  G.  Rolfe;  Baxter,  V.  B.  Tate;  Benton, 
H.  H.  Patterson,  Jr.,  S.  S.  Graham;  Boone,  F.  M.  Rowman; 
Bradley,  D.  J.  McKinney;  Calhoun,  Green  B.  Talbot;  Carroll, 
B.'  W/Goudelock;  Chicot,  J.  G.  B.  Sims  fday,  E.  B.  Headlee; 


118  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Clark,  T.  J.  Clingan,  Gooden  Deaton;  Columbia,  R.  L.  Emer- 
son, H.  P.  Smead;  Con  way,  W.  S.  Hanna;  Crawford,  T.  Corn- 
stock;  Craighead,  Joseph  A.  Meek;  Crittenden,  Daniel  Lewis; 
Cross,  W.  C.  Malone ;  Dallas,  W.  R.  Harley;  Desha,  W.  B..  Peter- 
son ;  Dorsey,  R.  F.  Foster;  Drew,  D.  E.  Barker;  Faulkner,  J.  H. 
Harrod ;  Franklin,  Idus  L.  Fielder ;  Fulton,  E.  B.  Lucas ;  Gar-- 
land, W.  P.  Walsh ;  Grant,  James  H.  Crutchfield ;  Greene,  J.  B. 
Boykin;  Hempstead,  W.  L.  Leslie,  J.  A.  Todd;  Hot  Spring,  S.  H. 
Emerson;  Howard,  W.  J.  Lee";  Independence,  George  Martin, 
F.  D.  Denton ;  Izard,  W.  E.  Davidson ;  Jackson,  W.  M.  Baird  ; 
Jefferson,  B.  Waterhouse,  W.  H.  Young,  R.  Sherrill ;  Johnson, 
J.  W.  May;  Lafayette,  M.  M.  Murray;  Lawrence,  W.  M.  Pon- 
der; Lee,  John  M.  Hewitt,  H.  P.  Rogers;  Lincoln,  G.  H.  Joslyn; 
Little  River,  James  S.  Dollarhide;  Logan,  B.  Priddy;  Lonoke, 
O.  N.  Owens,  W.  M.  Hereford;  Madison,  W.  T.  Brooks; 
Marion,  F.  M.  Cash ;  Miller,  J.  C.  Tyson ;  Mississippi,  F.  G. 
McGavock ;  Monroe,  John  B.  Baxter ;  Montgomery,  John  A. 
Watkins;  Nevada,  J.  A.  Ansley;  Newton,  M.  T.  Briscoe: 
Ouachita,  R.  S.  Salle,  J.  N.  Scales ;  Perry,  J.  F.  Sellers ;  Phillips, 
S.  H.  Brooks,  R.  B.  Macon,  John  J.  Moore ;  Pike,  J.  A.  Davis : 
Poinsett,  N.  I.  Willis ;  Polk,  J.  E.  Johnson ;  Pope,  N.  W.  Kuhn ; 
Prairie,  R.  B.  CarlLee ;  Pulaski,  J.  T.  Jones,  Charles  Choinski, 
Grancille  Ryles,  F.  W.  Wliite ;  Randolph,  R.  C.  Mack;  Saline, 
J.  W.  Adams ;  Scott,  G.  E.  James ;  Searcy,  B.  F.  Taylor ;  Sebas- 
tian, R.  H.  McConnell,  S.  E.  Smith;  Sevier,  William  T.  Camp- 
bell ;  Sharp,  W.  M.  Davidson ;  St.  Francis,  W.  S.  Brooks ;  Stone, 
W.  J.  Cagle ;  Union,  W.  C.  Langford,  C.  T.  Gordon ;  Van  Buren, 
J.  M.  Blasingame ;  Washington,  E.  B.  Moore,  S.  E.  Marrs,  W.  C. 
Braley;  White,  A.  J.  McGinnis,  J.  F.  Rives,  Jr.;  Woodruff,  Alex- 
ander Hall ;  Yell,  D.  F.  Huckaby. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  8,  1883.  J.  B.  Judkins 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  G.  Holland,  secretary. 
W.  C.  Braley  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Thomas  W.  Newton, 
Clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  28,  1883.  That  this 
General  Assembly  would  resubmit  the  constitutional  amendment 
to  repudiate  the  Hoi  ford  and  other  bonds  no  one  doubted.  Upon 
that  subject  Governor  Berry  said  in  his  message: 

"The  fact  that  there  are  outstanding  bonds  representing 
thirteen  millions  of  dollars,  which  are  claimed  by  the  holders 
to  be  valid  obligations  of  the  state,  and  which  are  believed  by  a 


AND'  LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  119 

large  portion  of  our  people  to'  be  fraudulent  and  void,  has  proven 
a  constant  source  of  annoyance  and  embarrassment.  It  has  kept 
immigrants  from  our  borders,  has  engendered  bad  feeling  be- 
tween our  citizens,  and  has  prevented  the  state  from  making 
provision  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  other  securities  admitted 
to  be  just.  The  best  interests  of  the  people  demand  that  the 
question  of  the  state's  liability  for  these  bonds  be  Definitely  set- 
tled. If  they  constitute  a  just  claim  we  ought  to  provide  for 
their  ultimate  payment.  If  they  are  not  a  legitimate  charge 
against  the  state,  and  we  do  not  intend  to  pay  them,  common 
fairness  requires  us  to  say  so,  and  say  it  in  such  manner  thai 
we  cannot  be  misunderstood.  *  *  *  *  In  a  matter  of  this 
magnitude  it  seems  to  me  eminently  proper  that  the  question 
should  be  withdrawn  from  the  General  Assembly  and  placed 
directly  before  the  people,  by  submitting  to  them,  for  ratifica- 
tion or  rejection,  an  amendment  to  the  constitution,  forever  pro- 
hibiting the  levying  of  any  tax  for  the  payment  of  any  portion 
of  the  railroad  aid,  the  levee  or  Holford  bonds  or  pretended 
claim  upon  which  they  are  based." 

Berry  also  recommended  the  enactment  of  a  revenue  law 
"that  will  compel  assessors  to  assess  all  of  the  property  of  the 
state  at  its  true  value;  that  will  impose  upon  railroad  property 
its  just  proportion  of  taxes,  for  the  benefit  of  all ;  that  will  pre- 
vent tax-dodging;  that  will  require  prompt  collection  and  set- 
tlement by  collectors,  and  that  will  make  it  impossible  for  state 
officers  to  grant  privileges  and  indulgences  to  collectors  not 
authorized  by  law." 

On  January  30,  1883,  Governor  Berry  approved  a  joint  reso- 
lution resubmitting  to  the  people  the  amendment  known  as  the 
"Fishback  Amendment"  to  repudiate  the  railroad  aid,  levee  and 
Holford  bonds;  the  state  was  divided  into  five  congressional 
districts;  provision  was  made  for  revising  and  digesting  the 
statutes;  the  sum  of  $750.00  was  appropriated  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  Charles  Wallace  as  the  representative  of  Arkansas 
at  the  Louisville  Exposition  in  the  fall  of  1883 ;  and  an  appro- 
priation of  $3,000.00  was  made  to  provide  for  an  exhibit  of  the 
state's  products  at  the  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition,  to  be  held 
in  New  Orleans  in  1884. 


120  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

SIMON  P.  HUGHES 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  17,  1885 — JANUARY  17,  1889 

Simon  P.  Hughes,  fifteenth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas, was  born  in  Smith  county,  Tennessee,  April  14,  1830.  His 
parents  came  to  Arkansas  in  1844,  settling  in  Pulaski  county. 
Two  years  later  Simon  went  back  to  Tennessee  to  attend  school 
and  spent  three  years  in  the  Sylvan  Academy  and  Clincon  Col- 
lege. In  1849  he  returned  to  Arkansas  and  engaged  in  farming. 
He  was  elected  sheriff  of  Monroe  county  in  1854  and  while  in 
that  office  commenced  the  study  of  law.  In  1857  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  and  began  practice  at  Clarendon,  having  for 
his  partner  \V.  W.  Smith,  who  was  afterward  elected  associate 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

When,  in  1861,  the  war  came,  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty- 
third  Arkansas  Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Charles  W. 
Adams.  He  was  commissioned  captain  of  his  company  and 
rose  to  be  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment.  Upon  the  reor- 
ganization of  the  Twenty-third,  he  entered  the  cavalry  service 
as  a  private  and  served  in  Morgan's  Texas  Battalion  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  After  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  in 
Clarendon. 

He  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from-  Monroe 
.county  in  1866;  was  the  delegate  from  that  county  to  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1874,  and  was  elected  the  first  attorney- 
general  under  the  new  constitution.  He  then  removed  to  Little 
Rock.  At  the  close  of  his  term  as  attorney-general  in  1877,  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law,  which  he  continued  until  he  was 
elected  governor:  He  was  re-elected  in  1886,  and,  when  the 
number  of  supreme  judges  was  increased  to  five,  in  1889,  was 
chosen' as  one  of  the  additional  justices.  He  served  on  the  bench 
until  :1896,  when  he  again  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession. 

On  June  2,  1857,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  E.  Blake- 
more  and  to  this  union  were  born  six  children — William  B.,  Rob- 
ert, George,  John,  Sallie  and  Lillian.  He  died  on  June  29,  1906. 

.''••."••*        ' '         .. 

Twenty-Fifth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-fifth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  1,  1884.     In  the  senate  there  was  one  Republican,  one 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  121 

Greenbacker  and  thirty  Democrats.  Of  those  elected  to  the 
house,  one  was  a  Greenbacker,  nine  were  Republicans  and  the 
rest  Democrats.  Six  of  the  Republicans  elected  to  the  house 
were  negroes. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  J.  S.  Anderson;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  S.  J.  Johnson;  Third  (Carroll, 
Boone  and  Newton),  R.  B.  Weaber;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
B.  T.  Embry;  Fifth  (Washington),  T.  W.  Thomason ;  Sixth 
(Independence  and  Stone),  B.  F.  Williamson;  Seventh  (Wood- 
ruff, St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  R:  F.  Crittenden ; 
Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  Theodore  F.  Potts;  Ninth  (Saline, 
Garland,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  Jabez  M.  Smith;  Tenth 
(Pulaski  and  Perry),  L.  L.  Thompson,  G.  T.  Holmes;  Eleventh 
(Jefferson),  J.  M.  Hudson;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie), 
W:  F.  Hicks;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  Robert  H. 
Crockett;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  George  B.  Peters; 
Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  Henry  Thane;  Sixteenth  (Lin- 
coln, Dorsey  and  Dallas),  J.  G.  Simmons;  Seventeenth  (Drew 
and  Ashley),  J.  W.  'Van  Gilder;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and 
Union),  Sol  Gardner;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita), 
John  R.  Thornton;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  C.  M. 
Norwood;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  L.  T. 
Walker;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard  and 
Polk),  J.  H.  Williams;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard,  Marion, 
and  Baxter),  V.  B.  Tate;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Madi- 
son), J.  T.  Walker ;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin), 
J.  M.  Pettigrew;  Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and. 
Searcy),  Z<  B.  Jennings;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulk- 
ner), T.  W.  WTells;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  R.  H. 
McConnell ;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi), 
J.  W.  Stayron;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  Jesse  A.  Ross; 
Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  G.  W.  Baxter. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  W.  H. 
Halliburton;  Ashley,  Hogan  Allen ;  Baxter,  A.  G.  Byler;  Ben- 
-ton,  James  A.  Rice,  Z  .  Baker;  Boone,  B.  B.  Huggins ;  Bradley, 
A.  C.  Jones;  Calhoun,  R.  G.  Harper;  Carroll,  J.  P.  Fancher ; 
Chicot,  G.  H.  Jones;  Clark,  H,  W.  McMillan,  J.  F.  Biggs;  Clay, 
Jol^n  H.JPavne ;  Cleburne, ;Henrv  Hardy^Cplumbia,  H.:T.  Haw- 
kins, J.  C.  Colquitt;  Conway,  Hiram  Dacas ;  Craighead,  T.  D. 


122  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Culverhouse ;  Crawford,  I.  H.  Huckleberry ;  Crittenden,  Asa 
Hodges ;  Cross,  N.  W.  Norton ;  Dallas,  W.  L.  Patterson ;  Desha, 
I.  G.  Bailey;  Dorsey,  J.  M.  Taylor ;  Drew,  D.  E.  Barker;  Faulk- 
ner, J.  H.  Harrod;  Franklin,  W.  R.  McLane ;  Fulton,  S.  A. 
Brown;  Garland,  W.  H.  Barry;  Grant,  J.  H.  H.  Smith;  Greene, 
j.  B.  Boykin ;  Hempstead,  A.  H.  Carrigan,  C.  A.  Bridewell: 
Hot  Spring,  R.  M.  Thrasher;  Howard,  J.  A.  Corbell;  Indepen- 
dence, Jesse  A.  Moore,  J.  C.  Yancey ;  Izard,  J.  B.  Baker;  Jack- 
son, J.  W.  Jones;  Jefferson,  W.  B.  Jaco,  Ed  Glover,  S.  H.  Scott: 
Johnson,  Isaac  McCracken ;  Lafayette,  J.  B.  Brooks ;  Lawrence, 
George  Thornburg;  Lee,  J.  M.  Hewitt,  J.  M.  Hardin ;  Lincoln, 
Thomas  R.  Kirsh ;  Little  River,  J.  T.  Henderson;  Logan,  M.  C. 
Scott ;  Lonoke,  J.  P.  Eagle,  A.  D.  Tanner ;  Madison,  Joel  N. 
Bunch;  Marion,  T.  H.  Flippin ;  Miller,  John  A.  Roberts;  Missis- 
sippi, J.  H.  Brawford ;  Monroe,  John  B.  Baxter;  Montgomery, 
William  P.  Birch ;  Nevada,  E.  E.  White ;  Newton,  E.  B.  Jones : 
Ouachita,  W.  F.  Avera,  J.  T.  Bibb;  Perry,  J.  F.  Sellers;  Phil- 
lips, J.  P.  Roberts,  W.  R.  Burke,  S.  H.  King;  Pike,  J.  P.  Cope- 
land;  Poinsett,  Benjamin  Harris;  Polk,  J.  G.  Hudgins ;  Pope, 
C.  E.  Toby;  Prairie,  R.  B.  Carl  Lee;  Pulaski,  Dan  O'Connell, 
T.  E.  Jones,  J.  W.  Vaughan,  T.  E.  Gibbon ;  Randolph,  Perry 
Nettles;  Saline,  J.  A.  P.  Bingham ;  Scott,  A.  G.  Washburn ; 
Searcy,  J.  W.  S.  Leslie;  Sebastian,  W.  M.  Fishback,  J.  S.  Lit- 
tle; Sevier,  A.  C.  Wheeler;  Sharp,  R.  B.  Bellamy;  St.  Francis, 
John  Parham ;  Stone,  W.  J.  Cagle ;  Union,  W.  C.  Langford, 
A.  W.  Bird ;  Van  Buren,  Jesse  Millsaps ;  Washington,  B.  F.  W7al- 
ker,  H.  P.  Greene,  R.  A.  Medearis ;  White,  G.  W.  Lewis,  Joseph 
Piercy ;  Woodruff,  Ed  S.  Carl  Lee ;  Yell,  W.  A.  Clement. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  12,  1885.  R.  B.  Weaver 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John  G.  Holland,  secretary. 
James  P.  Eagle  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Thomas  W.  Newton, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  28,  1885. 

In  a  total  of  157,391  votes  cast  in  1884,  the  Fishback  amend- 
ment for  the  repudiation  of  the  Railroad  Aid,  Levee  and  Hoi- 
ford  bonds  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of  41,110  (see  High 
Lights).  Thus  the  twenty-fifth  General  Assembly  repealed  the 
Act  of  April  6,  1869,  which  had  provided  for  the  funding  of 
the  aforesaid  bonds.  In  this  manner  nearly  $14,000,000  of  the 
total  bonded  debt  of  more  than  $17,000,000,  the  greater  part  of 
which  had  been  "saddled"  on  the  state  by  the  carpetbag  govern-- 


AND   LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  123 

ment  of  the  Clayton  regime,  was  "wiped  off  the  slate."  To  pro- 
vide for  the  payment  of  the  balance  of  the  bonded  indebtedness, 
the  General  Assembly  of  1885  passed  an  Act  creating  a  state 
debt  board,  composed  of  the  governor,  auditor,  treasurer  and 
attorney-general,  who  were  authorized  and  directed  "to  call  in 
and  register  the  outstanding  bonds  of  the  state,  determine  which 
were  legal  and  genuine,  and  report  to  the  next  General  Asembly.'' 

Among  the  other  Acts  of  this  session  were  those  changing 
the  name  of  Dorsey  county  to  Cleveland;  providing  for  the  bet- 
ter protection  of  fish  and  game ;  forfeiting  and  declaring  null 
and  void  all  railroad  charters  granted  to  railroad  companies  prior 
to  January  1,  1883,  unless  the  roads  were  actually  built  or  in 
process  of  construction ;  and  making  an  additional  appropria- 
tion of  $5,000.00  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Arkansas  exhibit 
at  the  Cotton  Centennial  Exposition  at  New  Orleans. 

Two  United  States  Senators  were  to  be  elected  by  this  Gen- 
eral Assembly — one  for  the  unexpired  term  of  A.  H.  Garland, 
who  had  been  appointed  attorney-general  of  the  United  States, 
and  one  to  succeed  J.  D.  Walker  for  the  term  beginning  on 
March  4,  1885.  Ex-Governor  James  H.  Berry  was  elected  to 
succeed  Garland  and  James  K.  Jones  was  elected  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  Walker. 

Twenty-Sixth  General  Assembly- 
Members    of     the     twenty-sixth     General    Assembly    were 
elected  September  6,   1886.     In  this  Assembly  the  Republicans 
held  only  the  usual  negligible  number  of  seats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  First  District,  J.  S.  Ander- 
son ;  Second,  S.  J.  Johnson;  Third,  H.  A.  Crandall;  Fourth, 
G.  T.  Cazort:  Fifth,  T.  W.  Thomason;  Sixth,  George  Martin; 
Seventh,  Riddick  Pope;  Eighth,  T.  F.  Potts;  Ninth,  Jabez  M. 
Smith ;  Tenth,  J.  T.  Jones,  J.  E.  Williams ;  Eleventh,  J.  M.  Hud- 
son;  Twelfth,  W.  P.  Fletcher;  Thirteenth,  R.  H.  Crockett; 
Fourteenth,  George  B.  Peters;  Fifteenth,  W.  H.  Logan;  Six- 
teenth, J.  G.  Simmons;  Seventeenth,  D.  E.  Barker;  Eighteenth. 
S.  Gardner ;  Nineteenth,  J.  M.  Meek ;  Twentieth,  F.  M.  Thomp- 
son; Twenty-first,  L.  A.  Byrne;  Twenty-second,  J.  H.  Williams; 
Twenty-third,  V.  B.  Tate;  Twenty- fourth,  D.  H.  Hammons; 
Twenty-fifth,  J.  M.  Pettigrew;  Twenty-sixth,  W.  S.  Hanna ; 


124  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Twenty-seventh,  John  Dunaway ;  Twenty-eighth,  R.  H.  McCon- 
nell;  Twenty-ninth,  Jno  W.  Stayton ;  Thirtieth,  J.  P.  Copeland; 
Thirty-first,  George  W.  Baxter. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  W.  H. 
Halliburton;  Ashley,  Hogan  Allen;  Baxter,  A  .G.  Byler;  Ben- 
ton,  Z.  Baker,  W.  J.  Blackburn;  Boone,  B.  B.  Hudgins ;  Brad- 
ley, C.  L.  Hayle ;  Calhoun,  S.  L.  Owens ;  Carroll,  W.  R.  Phillips ; 
Chicot,  H.  C.  Newsome;  Clark,  R.  P.  Phillips,  I.  W.  Smith; 
Clay,  J.  H.  Hill;  Cleburne,  Thomas  R.  Brice;  Cleveland,  R.  F. 
Foster ;  Columbia,  J.  C.  Colquitt,  J.  C.  Jackson ;  Conway,  G.  E. 
Trower;  Craighead,  J.  M.  Raines;  Crawford,  Hugh  F. 
Thomason ;  Crittenden,  S.  S.  Odom ;  Cross,  J.  D.  Block;  Dal- 
las, W.  L.  Patterson;  Desha,  G.  H.  Joslyn;  Drew,  N.  Y.  Wads- 
worth;  Faulkner,  J.  F.  Campbell;  Franklin,  R.  F.  Hooper;  Ful- 
ton, W.  M.  Green;  Garland,  E.  W.  Rector;  Grant,  J.  \V. 
Librand ;  Greene,  D.  L,  Fitzgerald;  Hempstead,  J.  T.  Holt,  Lee 
Clow;  Hot  Spring,  J.  M.  Fowler;  Howard,  J.  A.  Corbell ;  Inde- 
pendence, John  C.  Stroud,  R.  H.  Griffith ;  Izard,  George  Fer- 
guson;  Jackson,  H.  L.  Remmel ;  Jefferson,  Ed  Jefferson,  H.  B. 
Burton,  W.  B.  Jaco;  Johnson,  T.  P.  King;  Lawrence,  B.  A.  Mor- 
ris; Lee,  T.  M.  Hewitt,  C.  A.  Otey;  Lincoln,  Thomas  T.  Kirsh  ; 
Little  River,  H.  C.  Head;  Logan,  E.  C.  Burchette;  Lonoke, 
A.  J.  Patton,  W.  F.  Hicks;  Madison,  H.  M.  Moore;  Marion, 
W,  W.  Seward ;  Miller,  C.  C.  Deprato ;  Mississippi,  H.  F.  Blythe ; 
Monroe,  W.  J.  Blackwell ;  Montgomery,  N.  H.  Harley;  Nevada. 
J.  A.  Ansley ;  Newton,  M.  T.  Briscoe ;  Ouachita,  S.  Q.  Sevier, 
J.  C.  Marshall;  Perry,  J.  J.  Cook;  Phillips,  R.  B.  Macon,  James 
P.  Clarke,  J.  N.  Donohoo ;  Pike,  J.  P.  Dunn;  Poinsett,  G.  M. 
Hughey ;  Polk,  B.  F.  Thompson ;  Pope,  W.  L.  Sibley ;  Prairie, 
J.  D.  Booe;  Pulaski,  L.  C.  Balch,  G.  W.  Cranberry,  W.  A. 
Compton,  P.  Conrad ;  Randolph,  C.  J.  Johnston ;  Saline,  P.  M. 
Trammel;  Scott,  A.  G.  Washburn ;  Searcy,  Thomas  L.  Thomp- 
son ;  Sebastian,  J.  B.  McDonough,  James  A.  Williams ;  Sevier, 
E.  Y.  Maxey;  Sharp,  Sam  Wainwright;  St.  Francis,  L.  P. 
Featherstone ;  Stone,  W.  H.  H.  Oyler;  Union,  F.  M.  Betts ;  P.T. 
Matthews;  Van  Buren,  W.  M.  Peel ;  Washington,  R.  J.  Wilson. 
W.  M.  Davis,  H.  M.  McGuire;  White,  H<  C.^Knowlton,  William 

Rowe;  Woodruff,  Ed  S.  Carl  Lee;  Yell,  W.  A.  Clements. 

.  '    -  "  >  / 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  10,  1887.     D.  E.  Bar- 
ker was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  John   Holland  secre- 


AND   LEGISLATIVE   HISTORY  125 

•  tary.    J.  M.  Hewitt  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  W.  Galloway, 
clerk.    The  session  lasted  until  March  31,  1887. 

At  the  opening  of  the  session  Governor  Hughes,  in  a  message 
reviewing  the  achievements  of  his  administration  during  the  past 
two  years,  said : 

"For  the  year  ending  on  June  30,  1886,  the  sum  of  $1,837710 
was  realized  from  all  sources  for  the  support  of  free  schools. 
The  taxable  values  of  the  state  have  reached  $140,000,000.  More 
than  two  years  ago  the  state  ceased  to  borrow  money.  Since 
then  the  state  has  erected,  furnished  and  equipped  buildings  of 
modern  style  and  architecture,  that  are  convenient  and  sub- 
stantial, for  her  Deaf  Mute  Institute ;  her  School  for  the  Blind ; 
an  addition  to  her  lunatic  asylum ;  two  new  buildings  within  the 
walls  of  the  penitentiary,  and  has  repaired  and  greatly  im- 
proved the  capitol  building,  and  has  paid  for  it  all,  and  yet  has 
a  considerable  sum  of  money  in  her  treasury  unappropriated/' 

Among  the  Acts  passed  at  this  session  were  the  following: 
,  To  prohibit  the  granting  of  free  passes  by  any  railroad  or  trans- 
portation company  to  any  officers  or  employees  of  the  state ; 
to  abolish  public  executions ;  to  provide  for  a  geological  sur- 
vey of  the  state;  to  accept  the  sum  of  $250,000.00  from  the  St. 
Louis,  Iron  Mountain  &  Southern  Railroad  Company  in  set- 
tlement of  all  claims  for  back  taxes  due;  to  prohibit  the  sale 
of  intoxicating  liquors  within  three  miles  of  any  educational 
institution,  upon  the  petition  of  a  majority  of  the  inhabitants; 
to  define  the  weight  of  grains,  seeds  and  vegetables ;  to  reor- 
ganize the  Arkansas  Industrial  University ;  to  create  the  four- 
teenth judicial  circuit ;  to  regulate  the  fees  and  salaries  of  cer- 
tain state  and  county  officers ;  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  the 
public  debt  of  the  state,  and  to  submit  to  the  people  at  the 
next  general  election  the  question  of  holding  a  constitutional 
convention. 


126  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

JAMES  PHILIP  EAGLE 

GOVEROR,  JANUARY  17,  1889— JANUARY  10,  1893 

James  Philip  Eagle,  sixteenth  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  in  Maury  county,  Tennessee,  August  10, 
1837.  His  parents,  James  and  Charity  (Swaim)  Eagle,  were 
natives  of  North  Carolina.  In  the  fall  of  1839  they  came  to 
Arkansas,  settling  in  Pulaski  county,  about  twenty  miles  east 
of  Little  Rock.  In  1857  they  removed  to  a  farm  in  what  is 
now  Lonoke  county,  but  then,  a  part  of  Prairie  county.  J.  M. 
King,  sheriff  of  that  county,  appointed  Eagle  his  deputy  in  1859, 
in  which  position  he  served  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  1861. 
The  sheriff  then  raised  a  company,  in  which  his  deputy  enlisted 
as  a  private.  He  was  promoted  to  lieutenant,  then  captain,  next 
major,  and  when  General  D.  H.  Reynolds'  brigade  was  con- 
solidated into  a  single  regiment — the  First  Arkansas  Mounted 
Volunteers — Eagle  was  elected  lieutenant-colonel.  During  his 
military  service  he  was  in  numerous  engagements,  was  severely 
wounded  at  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree  Creek  near  Atlanta,  July 
17,  1864,  from  the  effects  of  which  he  was  in  the  hospital  for 
two  months.  Upon  his  recovery  he  rejoined  his  command  and 
was  present  at  the  surrender  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston's 
army  near  Durham,  North  Carolina,  in  April,  1865. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  Arkansas  to  find  that 
his  father  had  died  and  the  other  members  of  the  family  refugeed 
to  Texas.  Like  many  another  Confederate  soldier,  he  went  to 
work  to  restore  his  shattered  fortunes,  and  by  energy  and  per- 
severance accumulated  several  thousand  acres  of  land.  In  his 
youth,  opportunities  to  acquire  an  education  were  limited.  After 
the  war,  although  more  than  thirty  years  of  age,  he  determined 
to  obtain  a  better  education.  He  attended  school  at  Lonoke  for 
a  time  and  in  1870-71  he  was  a  student  in  the  Mississippi  Col- 
lege, a  Baptist  institution  at  Clinton,  Mississippi.  He  had  joined 
the  Baptist  Church  in  1867,  and  while  attending  college  was 
licensed  to  preach. 

In  1872  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from 
Prairie  county.  This  marked  the  beginning  of  his  political 
career.  He  was  a  member  of  the  special  session  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  1874;  was  also  the  delegate  from  Lonoke  county 
to  the  constitutional  convention  of  that  year.  While  serving  in 


AXD    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  127 

the  special  session  of  1874  he  was  appointed  one  of  a  committee 
to  adjust  the  claims  growing  out  of  the  Brooks-Baxter  .war.  In 
1876  and  again  in  1884  he  was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly. 
During  the  latter  session  he  was  speaker  of  the  house.  He  was 
nominated  by  the  Democratic  state  convention  of  1888  for  gov- 
ernor and  was  elected  in  September  of  that  year.  He  was  re- 
elected  in  1890.  Upon  retiring  from  the  office  of  governor  in 
January,  1893,  he  devoted  his  attention  to  his  landed  interests 
and  to  preaching  for  Baptist  congregations  too  poor  to  employ 
a  regular  pastor.  He  presided  over  the  Baptist  state  conven- 
tion for  ten  years  in  succession. 

On  January  3,  1882,  Governor  Eagle  married  Miss  Mary 
Kavanaugh  Oldham,  of  Richmond,  Kentucky,  a  daughter  of 
William  K.  Oldham.  He  died  December  20,  1904. 

Twenty-Seventh  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-seventh  General  Assembly  were 
elected  September  6,  1888.  The  senate  was  composed  of  twenty- 
five  Democrats  and  seven  Republicans ;  the  house  of  seven  Repub- 
licans, five  representatives  of  Union  Labor  and  eighty- three 
Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  First  District,  B.  H.  Crow- 
ley;  Second,  S.  H.  Davidson;  Third,  H.  A.  Crandall;  Fourth, 
G.  T.  Cazort;  Fifth,  J.  N.  Tillman;  Sixth,  George  Martin; 
Seventh,  Riddick  Pope;  Eighth,  W.  A.  Clement;  Ninth,  T.  B. 
Morton;  Tenth,  J.  T.  Jones,  J.  E.  Williams;  Eleventh,  J.  W. 
Crawford;  Twelfth,  W.  P.  Fletcher;  Thirteenth,  C.  W.  Brickell ; 
Fourteenth,  J.  P.  Clarke;  Fifteenth,  W.  H.  Logan;  Sixteenth, 
W.  L.  Patterson;  Seventeenth,  D.  E.  Barker;  Eighteenth., 
B.  W.  M.  Warren;  Nineteenth,  J.  M.  Meek;  Twentieth,  F.  M. 
Thompson;  Twenty-first,  L.  A.  Byrne;  Twenty-second,  W.  P. 
McElroy ;  Twenty-third,  W.  E.  Davidson ;  Twenty-fourth,  D.  H. 
Hammons;  Twenty-fifth,  S.  A.  Miller;  Twenty-sixth,  W.  S. 
Hanna;  Twenty-seventh,  John  Dunaway;  Twenty-eighth,  A.  G. 
Washburn;  Twenty-ninth,  Benjamin  Harris;  Thirtieth,  J.  P. 
Copeland;  Thirty-first,  J.  J,  Sumpter. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:     Arkansas  county,  W.  H. 
Halliburton ;  Ashley,  Hogan  Allen ;  Baxter,  H.  H.  Hilton ;  Ben-- 
ton, Dan  M.   Setser,  P.  A.  Rodgers;   Boone,  B.  B.  Hudgins; 


128  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Bradley,  W.  R.  Quinney ;  Calhoun,  G.  W.  Dickinson ;  Carroll, 
W.  R.  Phillips;  Chicot,  G.  H.  Jones;  Clark,  H.  W.  McMillan, 
I.  F.  Welch;  Clay,  H.  W.  Dollison ;  Cleburne,  J.  M.  Brundidge ; 
Cleveland..  W.  J.  Stanfield ;  Columbia,  H.  T.  Hawkins,  D.  L. 
Kilgore;  Conway,  Z.  A.  P.  Venable;  Craighead,  J.  A.  Meek; 
Crawford,  Lee  Neal ;  Crittenden,  Asa  Hodges ;  Cross.  J.  F.  Pat- 
terson;  Dallas,  J.  O.  IJrowning;  Desha,  G.  H.  Joslyn ;  Drew. 
N.  Y.  Wadsworth;  Faulkner,  J.  E.  Martin;  Franklin,  M. 
Stroup ;  Fulton,  J.  L.  Short;  Garland,  E.  W.  Rector;  Grant. 
E.  H.  Kemp ;  Greene,  A.  P.  Cox ;  Hempstead,  Lee  Clow,  A.  B. 
Jones ;  Hot  Spring,  William  Lambert ;  Howard,  James  D.  Sha- 
ver ;  Independence,  W.  P.  Huddleston,  J.  C.  Stroud ;  Izard, 
D.  D.  Shaver;  Jackson,  Joseph  M.  Stayton ;  Jefferson,  S.  S. 
Woolfork,  Ed  Jefferson,  S.  W.  Dawson ;  Johnson,  J.  W.  Coff- 
man  ;  Lafayette,  W.  H.  King;  Lawrence,  Charles  Coffin;  Lee, 
N.  H.  Hutton,  W.  L.  Howard ;  Lincoln,  H.  H.  Williams ;  Little 
River,  H.  C.  Head ;  Logan,  H.  Stroup ;  Lonoke,  H.  T.  Bradford, 
W.  F.  Hicks;  Madison,  W.  T.  Brooks;  Marion,  J.  C.  Floyd; 
Miller,  R.  L.  Trigg;  Mississippi,  J.  O.  Blackwood ;  Monroe. 
G.  W.  Lowe;  Montgomery,  G.  \Y.  Witt;  Nevada,  O.  S.  Jones; 
Newton,  M.  T.  Briscoe ;  Ouachita,  J.  W.  Juniel,  T.  J.  Babb : 
Perry,  J.  F.  Sellers;  Phillips,  S.  L.  Cook,  J.  H.  Carr,  J.  N. 
Donohoo;  Pike,  J.  P.  Dunn;  Poinsett,  L.  J.  Collins;  Polk,  J.  M. 
Green;  Pope,  W.  L.  Shibley ;  Prairie,  W.  R.  Gibbon;  Pulaski, 
C.  T.  Coffman,  William  Nickel,  J.  R.  Walters,  G.  W.  Grand- 
berry;  Randolph,  Perry  Nettle;  Saline,  V.  D.  Lafferty;  Scott, 
W.  A.  Houck;  Searcy,  T.  L.  Thompson;  Sebastian,  J.  A. 
Williams,  J.  Frank  Weaver;  Sevier,  E.  V.  Maxey;  Sharp,  R.  B. 
Bellamy;  St.  Francis,  William  Manning;  Stone,  J.  W.  Hum- 
phrey: Union,  C.  T.  Gordon,  W.  D.  Jameson;  Van  Buren,  R.  S. 
Hill;  Washington,  J.  Crawford,  T.  Wainwright,  T.  B.  Greer  ; 
White,  Sam  J.  Crabtree,  J.  M.  Allen;  Woodruff,  J.  B.  Dent; 
Yell,  W.  A.  Nolen. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  14,  1889.  W.  S.  Hanna 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  G.  Holland,  secretary. 
B.  B.  Hudgins  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  G.  B.  Sims,  clerk. 
The  session  lasted  until  March  31,  1889. 

The  most  important  Acts  of  the  session  were:  To  increase 
the  number  of  supreme  judges  to  five,  and  authorizing  the  gov- 
ernor to  call  a  special  election  for  the  additional  judges;  to  estab- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  129 

lish  a  bureau  of  mines,  manufactures  and  agriculture;  to  add 
$5,000.00  to  the  governor's  contingent  fund  for  the  apprehension 
of  notorious  criminals;  to  cede  jurisdiction  to  the  United  States 
over  the  Federal  building  and  site  in  the  city  of  Fort  Smith, 
and  over  sites  for  public  buildings  at  Helena  and  Texarkana; 
accepting  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  agricultural  experiment  stations;  regulating  the  sale 
of  commercial  fertilizers ;  extending  certain  railroad  charters  two 
years,  on  condition  that  construction  work  was  commenced  within 
six  months  after  the  approval  of  the  Act;  to  allow  railroad  com- 
panies to  build  branch  lines ;  and  providing  for  the  protection  of 
passengers  on  railroads,  and  railroad  employees. 

Twenty-Eighth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-eighth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  1,  1890.  The  senate  was  composed  of  twenty-nine 
Democrats,  one  Republican  and  two  representatives  of  Union 
Labor.  In  the  house  there  were  twelve  Republicans,  four  repre- 
sentatives of  Union  Labor,  and  eighty-six  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were :  First  District,  C.  H.  Crow- 
ley  ;  Second,  S.  H.  Davidson ;  Third,  A.  F.  Casey ;  Fourth,  J.  M. 
Harkey;  Fifth,  J.  N.  Tillman;  Sixth,  W.  H.  H.  Oyler;  Seventh, 
F.  P.  Hill;  Eighth,  W.  A.  Clement;  Ninth,  T.  B.  Morton-;  Tenth, 
J.  E.  Williams,  G.  T.  Holmes;  Eleventh,  J.  W.  Crawford; 
Twelfth,  M.  M.  Erwin ;  Thirteenth,  C.  W.  Brickell ;  Fourteenth, 
J.  P.  Clarke ;  Fifteenth,  George  W.  Bell ;  Sixteenth,  W.  L.  Pat- 
terson; Seventeenth,  Hogan  Allen;  Eighteenth,  B.  W.  M.  War- 
ren ;  Nineteenth,  William  R.  Hardy ;  Twentieth,  C.  C.  Hamby ; 
Twenty-first,  H.  T.  Hawkins;  Twenty-second,  W.  P.  McElroy; 
Twenty-third,  W.  E.  Davidson ;  Twenty,  fourth,  M.  D.  Lucas ; 
Twenty-fifth,  S.  A.  Miller;  Twenty-sixth,  A.  J.  Redwine; 
Twenty-seventh,  J.  H.  P.  Russ ;  Twenty-eighth,  A.  G.  Wash- 
burn;  Twenty-ninth,  Benjamin  Harris;  Thirtieth,  E.  B.  Kins- 
worthy  ;  Thirty-first,  John  J.  Sumpter. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  John  F. 
Park;  Ashley,  Benjamin  F.  Moore;  Baxter,  Jerry  C.  South;  Ben- 
ton,  J.  B.  Lambkin,  W.  E.  Gould ;  Boone,  E.  G.  Mitchell ;  Brad- 
ley, W.  R.  Quinney ;  Calhoun,  J.  C.  Jones ;  Carroll,  W.  A.  Evans ; 
Chicot,  Henry  A.  Johnson ;  Clark,  Eli  W.  McBrayer,  H.  T.  Bon- 


130  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

ner;  Clay,  F.  G.  Taylor;  Cleburne,  J.  M.  Brundidg'e ;  Cleveland, 
Thomas  B.  Little;  Columbia,  J.  E.  Askew,  James  F.  Poe ;  Con- 
way,  Z.  A.  F.  Venable ;  Craighead,  Eugene  Hinson ;  Crawford, 
Lee  Neal ;  Crittenden,  G.  W.  Watson ;  Cross,  Starkey  S.  Hare ; 
Dallas,  Thomas  Peterson,  Jr. ;  Desha,  R.  C.  Weddington ;  Drew, 
Adam  C.  Rhodes ;  Faulkner,  John  Dunaway;  Franklin,  Thomas 

D.  Berry ;  Fulton,  Jasper  L.  Short,  Jr. ;  Garland,  E.  W.  Rector ; 
Grant,  Reuben  R.  Adams;  Greene,  Coleman  H.   Fore;  Hemp- 
stead,  J.  T.  Holt,  J.  R.  Wimberly;  Hot  Spring,  William  Lam- 
bert ;  Howard,  William  D.  Lee ;  Independence,  E.  M.  Dickinson, 

E.  D.  Farrish ;  Izard,  T.  B.  Baker;  Jackson,  J.  A.   Schnables; 
Jefferson,  John  J.   Lucas,   Sam  L.  Woolfork,   S.  W.   Dawson; 
Johnson,  J.  W.  Coffman ;  Lafayette,  A.  H.   Sevier ;  Lawrence, 
Clay  Sloan;  Lee,  W.  L.  Howard,  L.  W.  Otey;  Lincoln,  H.  N. 
Williams;  Little  River,  Hindman  C.  Head;  Logan,  William  B. 
Jackson ;  Lonoke,  James  M.  King,  O.  A.  Owens ;  Madison,  J.  T. 
Walker;  Marion,  T.  H.  Flippin ;  Miller,  John  J.  Vogel ;  Missis- 
sippi, G.  W.  McMillin ;  Monroe,  George  W.  Lowe ;  Montgomery, 
Gibson  Witt;  Nevada,  Eugene  E.  White;  Newton,  William  A. 
Carlton ;  Ouachita,  C.  D.   Frederick,  Thomas  Hardison ;  Perry, 
J.  F.  Sellers ;  Phillips,  John  H.  Carr,  George  W.  Yancey,  J.  N. 
Donohoo;  Pike,  M.  P.  Perrin ;  Poinsett,  John  J.  Mardis';  Polk, 
T.  M.  Carder;  Pope,  Lawrence  Russell;  Prairie,  John  R.  John- 
son ;  Pulaski,  Dan  W.  Jones,  Peter  Conrad,  B.  F.  Adair,  Thomas 
W.  Newton;  Randolph,  John  C.  Wisner;  Saline,  T.  N.  Mehaffy: 
Scott,  John  W.   McNutt;   Searcy,  J.   F.   Henlry;   Sebastian,  J. 
Frank  Weaver,  P.  D.  Brewer ;  Sevier,  Joseph  Holman ;  Sharp, 
R.   B.    Bellamy;   St.   Francis,   William   Manning;   Stone,   Jacob 
King;  Union,  Alex  C.  Jones,  A.  S.  Morgan;  Van  Buren,  H.  C. 
Emerson;    Washington,    B.    F.    Williams,   J.    Crawford,    T.    B. 
Greer ;   White,   Sam  J.   Crabtree,  John  D.   DeBois ;   Woodruff, 
J.  B.  Dent;  Yell,  J.  L.  Williams. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  12,  1891.  James  P. 
Clarke  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  G.  Holland, 
secretary.  E.  W.  Rector  was  speaker  of  the  house;  J.  G.  B. 
Sims,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  April  3,  1891. 

On  January  21,  1891,  James  K.  Jones  was  re-elected  United 
States  Senator  for  the  term  beginning  March  4,  1891.  Jones 
received  eighty  votes,  Jacob  Trieber  twelve,  and  D.  E.  Barker  two. 

The  following  were  the  most  important  of  the  Acts  passed 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  131 

during  the  session:  An  Act  to  give  county  courts  the  power  to 
order  the  drainage  and  reclamation  of  swamp  and  overflowed 
lands ;  an  Act  to  encourage  the  lumber  industry  by  providing  for 
the  incorporation  of  booming  and  rafting  companies,  with 
authority  to  construct  booms  across  streams  for  catching  logs, 
lumber,  shingles  and  other  timber  products;  to  accept  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Act  of  Congress,  approved  August  30,  1890,  mak- 
ing an  annual  appropriation  for  the  benefit  of  agricultural  and 
mechanical  colleges,  and  giving  eight-elevenths  of  the  appro- 
priation to  the  University  at  Fayetteville  and  the  other  three- 
elevenths  to  the  Normal  School  for  colored  people  located  at 
Pine  Bluff;  to  give  the  United  States  jurisdiction  over  a  site  for 
a  public  building  at  Camden;  to  prevent  prize  fighting  in  the 
state ;  to  amend  the  election  laws,  creating  the  state  board  of  elec- 
tion commissioners,  composed  of  the  governor,  secretary  of  state 
and  auditor,  who  were  empowered  to  appoint  three  election  com- 
missioners in  each  county;  to  incorporate  the  Ex-Confederate 
Association  of  Arkansas,  and  to  grant  pensions  to  disabled  Con- 
federate soldiers  or  their  widows  and  orphans. 


132  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

WILLIAM  MEADE  FISHBACK 

GOVERNOR;  JANUARY  10,  1893— JANUARY  18,  1895 

William  Meade  Fishback,  seventeenth  governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  was  born  in  Culpepper  county,  Virginia,  November 
5,  1831,  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Sophia  (Yates)  Fishback.  The 
Fishback  family  came  originally  from  Germany.  Fredericktown, 
Maryland,  was  named  for  Frederick  Fishback,  who  was  an 
ancestor  of  William  M.  Fishback.  This  Frederick  Fishback  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Hager,  whose  father  was  the  founder  of  Hagers- 
tovvn,  Maryland,  prior  to  the  American  Revolution. 

WTilliam  M.  Fishback  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native  county ; 
was  educated  at  the  University  of  Virginia;  taught  school  for 
some  time  after  leaving  college;  studied  law  in  Richmond,  and 
in  1857  decided  to  seek  his  fortune  in  the  West.  The  greater 
part  of  the  year  1858  was  spent  in  Illinois  looking  for  a  place  to 
begin  the  practice  of  his  profession.  At  Springfield  he  met  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  who  assisted  him  in  securing  his  first  client.  Later 
in  the  year  1858  he  came  to  Arkansas.  After  about  a  month  at 
Fort  Smith  he  went  to  Greenwood.  There  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Sol.  F.  Clark,  which  lasted  until  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  War.  In  1861  he  was 'elected  as  a  Union  man  to  the  state 
secession  convention.  He  voted  for  the  ordinance  of  secession, 
but  explained  at  the  time  that  he  did  so  because  the  trend  of 
public  opinion  demanded  its  adoption. 

Soon  after  the  adjournment  of  that  convention  he  went  north, 
but  returned  to  Little  Rock  in  1864  as  the  editor  of  a  newspaper 
called  the  Unconditional  Union.  The  same  year  he  was  elected 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  but  was  not  allowed  to  take  his  seat. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  Sebastian  county,  where  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  1874.  He 
was  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  in  1876,  was  re-elected  in 
1878.  and  at  the  ensuing  session  of  1879  introduced  what  is 
known  as  the  "Fishback  Amendment"  to  the  state  constitution, 
prohibiting  the  state  authorities  from  paying  the  Holford,  rail- 
road aid  and  levee  bonds.  In  1884  he  was  again  elected  to  the 
General  Asembly  and  in  the  session  of  1885  was  a  candidate  for 
United  States  Senator,  but  was  defeated  by  James  H.  Berry.  In 
1888  he  entered  the  Democratic  state  convention  as  a  candidate 
for  governor,  but  failed  to  receive  the  nomination.  He  was 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  133 


elected  goverfior  in  1892  and  served  one  term.  In  1896  he  was 
an  ardent  advocate  of  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  and  made 
speeches  in  several  states  in  behalf  of  Bryan  and  Sewall. 

On  April  4,  1867,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Adelaide  Miller, 
who  bore  him  six  children.  He  died  at  his  home  in  Fort  Smith 
February  9,  1903. 

Twenty-Ninth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  twenty-ninth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  5,  1892.  The  Republicans  elected  one  senator,  the 
Populists  two,  and  the  Democrats  twenty-nine.  The  house  was 
composed  of  five  Republicans,  six  Populists,  and  eighty-nine 
Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  Robert  Liddell;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  Clay  Sloan;  Third  (Carroll,  Boone 
and  Newton),  A.  F.  Casey;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope),  J.  M. 
Harkey;  Fifth  (Washington),  R.  J.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Indepen- 
dence and  Stone),  W.  H.  H.  Oyler;  Seventh  (Woodruff,  St. 
Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  F.  P.  Hill;  Eighth  (Yell  and 
Logan),  M.  C.  Scott;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant), 
T.  M.  Mehaffey;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry,  J.  W.  Callaway, 
G.  T.  Holmes;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  J.  W.  Adams;  Twelfth 
(Lonoke  and  Prairie),  M.  M.  Erwin ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and 
Monroe),  W.  Theodore  Smith;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee), 
Henry  N.  Word;  Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  George  W.  Bell; 
Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas),  W.  S.  Amis;  Seven- 
teenth (  Drew  and  Ashley),  Hogan  Allen;  Eighteenth  (Brad- 
ley and  Union),  W.  R.  Quinney;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and 
Ouachita),  T.  J.  Gaughan;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada), 
C.  C.  Hamby;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller), 
H.  T.  Hawkins;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard 
.and  Polk),  J.  H.  Bell;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard,  Marion  and 
Baxter),  W.  E.  Davidson;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and  Madi- 
son), M.  D.  Lucas;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin), 
T.  O.  Pettigrew;  Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Conway  and 
Searcy),  A.  J.  Redwine;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulk- 
ner), J.  P.  H.  Russ;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  J.  F. 
Weaver;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  .and  Mississippi), 


134  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

W.   P.  West;  Thirtieth   (Clark  and  Pike),  E.  B.  Kinsworthy; 
Thirty-first   (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Gibson  Witt. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :    Arkansas  county,  John  F. 
Parks;  Ashley,  W.  H.  Lindsey;  Baxter,  Jerry  C.  South;  Benton, 
John  Black,  P.  A.  Rogers ;  Boone,  E.  G.  Mitchell ;  Bradley,  W.  F. 
Barry ;  Calhoun,  T.  A.  Thornton ;  Carroll,  H.  G.  Poyner ;  Chicot, 
N.  E.  Edwards;  Clark,  J.  E.  Bradley,  J.  W.  Neill;  Clay,  J.  T'. 
Blackshare ;  Cleveland,  Louis  Helyer ;  Cleveland,  R.  E.  Foster ; 
Columbia,  D.  L.  Kilgore ;  J.  C.  Colquitt;  Conway,  Carl  Flucks, 
N.  E.  Hawkins;  Craighead,  Ernmett  Rodgers;  Crawford,  J.  F. 
Roberts,  David  McGitmis;  Crittenden,  L.  P.  Berry;  Cross,  W.  T. 
Bledsoe :  Dallas,  G.  W.  D.  Overman ;  Desha,  D.  A.  Gates ;  Drew, 
J.   H.   Hammock;   Faulkner,    S.   A.    Stewart;   Franklin,    R.    F. 
Hooper,  W.  W.  Bailey;  Fulton,  R.  D.  Harris;  Garland,  J.  D. 
Kimbell,  J.  M.  McCollum;  Grant,  R.  R.  Adams;  Green,  T.  B. 
Kitchens;  Hempstead,  J.  A.  Williamson,  C.  A.  Bridewell;  Hot 
Spring,  S.  H.  Emerson ;  Howard,  J.  H.  Hancock ;  Independence, 
George  W.-McCauley,  A.  G.  Gray;  Izard,  Ransom  Gulley;  Jack- 
son, Wiley  M.  Baird ;  Jefferson,  J.  T.  Rodgers,  P.   H.   Booth. 
Howard  McKay;  Johnson,  W.  T.  Hunt;  Lafayette,  J.  M.  Lewis; 
Lawrence,  J.  B.  Judkins ;  Lee,  H.  N.  Hutton,  James  Robertson ; 
Lincoln,  F.  M.  McGehee ;  Little  River,  Austin  Wright;  Logan, 
D.  A.  Carroll,  George  R.  Brown;  Lonoke,  W.  H.  Eagle,  J.  H. 
Brawley;  Madison,  W.  C.  Roberts;  Marion,  J.  S.  Owens;  Miller, 
W.  F.  Kirby;  Mississippi,  H.  C.  Davis;  Monroe,  W.  J.  F.  Jones; 
Montgomery,    W.    O.    Diffie ;    Nevada,    T.    W.    Hays;    Newton, 
W.    J.    Crump ;   Ouachita,    Frank   W.    Broadnax ;    Perry,   J.    F. 
Sellers;  Phillips,  W.   M.   Richardson,  J.   H.   Carr;   Pike,  J.   C. 
Pinnix,  Poinsett,  L.  J.  Collins;  Polk,  J.  T.  Miller;  Pope,  M.  H. 
Buchanan,   L.   Russell ;   Prairie,   F.   E.   Brown ;   Pulaski,   A.   C. 
Jones,  W.  A.  Galloway,  Ham  Z.  Churchill,  C.  P.  Roberts ;  Ran- 
dolph, A.  J.  Witt;  Saline,  W.  M.  Baldridge ;  Scott,  R.  E.  Ses- 
sions ;  Searcy,  J.  F.  Hartley ;  Sebastian,  T.  H.  Leatherford,  T.  C. 
Humphrey,  J.  S.  Luck;  Sevier,  Hal  L.  Norwood;  Sharp,  Green- 
berry  Ferguson;   St.   Francis,  R.  W.   Peevy ;   Stone,  James   M. 
McAlisteri;  Union,  J.  Monroe  Smith;  Van  Buren,  J.  W.  Pate; 
Washington,   H.   M.   Welch,   B.   F.   Williams,   R.    P.    Harrison; 
White,  J.  W.  Wells,  H.  M.  Pope ;  Woodruff,  W.  E.  Ferguson  : 
Yell,  W.  A.  Clement,  R.  D.  McMullen. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  9,  1893.     E.  B.  Kins- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  135 

worthy  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  D.  Howell, 
secretary.  T.  C.  Humphrey  was  speaker  of  the  house;  D.  N. 
Halliburton,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  April  8,  1893. 

The  principal  Acts  of  the  session  were:  An  Act  to  revise 
and  digest  the  laws  of  the  state;  an  Act  giving  consent  to  the 
acquisition  by  the  United  States  of  a  tract  of  land,  of  not  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  acres,  in  Pulaski  county  for  a  military  post, 
and  surrendering  jurisdiction  over  the  same  (see  High  Lights)  ; 
another  to  repeal  the  Act  of  1887  providing  for  a  geological  sur- 
vey of  the  state ;  an  Act  providing  for  the  better  government  of 
cities  of  the  first  class;  an  Act  compelling  railroad  companies 
to  furnish  separate  coaches  for  "white  and  colored  passengers; 
and  an  Act  authorizing  the  governor  to  appoint  five  directors  to 
provide  an  exhibit  of  the  state's  products  at  the  Columbian  Expo- 
sition at  Chicago,  authorizing  an  educational  exhibit,  and  making 
an  appropriation  of  $15,000.00  to  defray  the  expenses. 

The  privilege  tax  and  pension  laws  were  amended,  and  two 
constitutional  amendments  were  proposed.  The  first  provided 
that  justices  of  the  peace  should  have  power  to  levy  a  tax  of 
not  more  than  three  mills  on  the  dollar  for  internal  improve- 
ments. The  second  gave  the  governor  authority  to  fill  vacancies 
in  county  and  township  offices. 


136  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

JAMES  P.  CLARKE 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  18,  1895— JANUARY  14,  1897 

James  P.  Clarke,  eighteenth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkan- 
sas, was  born  in  Yazoo  City,  Mississippi,  August  18,  1854,  the 
son  of  Walter  and  Ellen  (White)  Clarke.  He  received  an 
academic  education  in  his  native  state  and  then  entered  the  law 
department,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  where  he  was  grad- 
uated in  1878.  The  following  year  he  located  at  Helena,  Arkan- 
sas, where  he  began  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1886  he 
was  elected  to  the  house  of  representatives  from  Phillips  county. 
Two  years  later  he  was  elected  to  the  state  senate,  and  in  the 
session  of  1891  he  was  chosen  president  of  that  body.  In  1892 
he  was  elected  attorney-general  and  in  1894  was  elected  governor. 

He  declined  a  second  term  as  governor  in  1896  and  prac- 
ticed law  in  Little  Rock  until  January,  1903,  when  he  was 
elected  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  James  K.  Jones.  At 
the  close  of  his  first  term  he  was  re-elected  for  the  term  ending 
on  March  4,  1915.  The  seventeenth  amendment  to  the  Federal 
Constitution  went  into  effect  on  May  31,  1913.  This  amendment 
provides  for  the  election  of  United  States  senators  by  direct  vote 
of  the  people.  Senator  Clarke  was  chosen  for  a  third  term  at 
the  election  in  1914  and  was  the  first  senator  from  Arkansas  to 
be  elected  by  popular  vote.  While  in  the  Senate  he  served  on 
the  committees  on  foreign  relations  and  military  affairs  and  was 
chairman  of  the  commerce  committee.  In  1913  he  was  elected 
president  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  Congress  that  an  Arkansan  was  so  honored.  He  was  re- 
elected  to  the  latter  position  in  1915.  Although  a  Democrat, 
he  was  not  always  a  partisan  and  frequently  asserted  his  inde- 
pendence. An  instance  of  this  sort  is  illustrated  in  the  passage 
of  what  is  known  as  the  "Adamson  Bill,"  in  September,  1916, 
to  stop  the  threatened  nation-wide  railroad  strike.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  President  Woodrow  Wilson  wanted  the 
bill  passed,  Senator  Clarke  was  one  of  the  two  Democratic  sena- 
tors who  refused  to  vote  for  it,  and  as  president  pro  tempore  he 
refused  to  sign  it  after  it  was  passed. 

While  he  was  governor  an  incident  occurred  which  shows  the 
indomitable  character  of  the  man.  Some  prize  fight  pro- 
moters undertook  to  arrange  a  bout  between  James  J.  Corbett 


AND   LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  137 

and  Robert  Fitzsimmons  at  Hot  Springs.  Governor  Clarke 
declared  that  no  prize  fights  should  take  place  in  Arkansas  while 
he  was  governor,  and  announced  that  he  would  call  out  the 
militia,  if  necessary,  to  prevent  the  match.  His  unyielding  deter- 
mination to  protect  the  good  name  of  the  state  caused  the  fight 
promoters  to  abandon  the  project. 

He  died  at  his  home  in  Little  Rock  October  1,  1916,  after  an 
illness  of  only  four  days,  folowing  a  slight  stroke  of  apoplexy. 
Four  United  States  Senators  attended  the  funeral — Robinson, 
of  Arkansas;  Ransdell,  of  Louisiana;  Saulsbury,  of  Delaware, 
and  Vardaman,  of  Mississippi.  The  Arkansas  Bar  also  paid 
tribute  to  his  ability  as  a  lawyer  and  his  sterling  worth  as  a 
statesman  and  citizen. 

On  November  17,  1883,  James  P.  Clarke  and  Mrs.  Sallie 
Moore  Wooten,  of  Moon  Lake,  Mississippi,  were  united  in  mar- 
riage. Two  daughters  and  a  son — Julia,  Marion  and  James- 
were  born  of  this  union. 

Thirtieth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  thirtieth  General  Assembly  were  elected  Sep- 
tember 3,  1894.  The  Republicans  had  in  the  senate  but  one  mem- 
ber. In  the  house  there  were  three  Republicans,  nine  Populists 
and  eighty-eight  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  Robert  Liddell ;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  Clay  Sloan;  Third  (Carroll,  Boone 
and  Newton),  W.  B.  Morton;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope),  G.  T. 
Cazort;  Fifth  (Washington),  Robert  J.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Inde- 
pendence and  Stone),  A.  G.  Gray;  Seventh  (Woodruff,  St.  Fran- 
cis, Cross  and  Crittenden),  Van  B.  Izard;  Eighth  (Yell  and 
Logan),  M.  C.  Scott;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant), 
T.  M.  Mehafrey;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  B.  D.  Williams, 
R.  \V.  Worthen;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  J.  W.  Adams;  Twelfth 
(Lonoke  and  Prairie),  G.  W.  Granberry ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas 
and  Monroe),  W.  Theodore  Smith;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and 
Lee),  Henry  N.  Word;  Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  George 
C.  Shell;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas),  W.  S. 
Amis;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Ashley),  J.  G.  Williamson; 
Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  W.  R.  Quinney;  Nineteenth 


138  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

(Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  E.  L.  Hathcock;  Twentieth  (Hemp- 
stead  and  Nevada),  A.  E.  Williams;  Twenty-first  (Columbia, 
Lafayette  and  Miller),  David  L.  King;  Twenty-second  (Little 
River,  Sevier,  Howard  and  Polk),  John  H.  Bell;  Twenty-third 
(Fulton,  Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  W.  E.  Davidson;  Twenty- 
fourth  (Benton  and  Madison),  J.  A.  C.  Blackburn;  Twenty-fifth 
(Crawford  and  Franklin),  T.  A.  Pettigrew ;  Twenty-sixth  (Van 
Buren,  Conway,  Searcy  and  Cleveland),  William  L.  Moose; 
Twenty-seventh  (White  and .  Faulkner),  Julius  V.  Council : 
Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  J.  Frank  Weaver;  Twenty- 
ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  W.  P.  West;  Thirtieth 
(Clark  and  Pike),  J.  C.  Pinnix ;  Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Mont- 
gomery), Gibson  Witt. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Jeff  D. 
Ferguson ;  Ashley,  P.  T.  Butler ;  Baxter,  Jerry  C.  South ;  Ben- 
ton,  Richard  L.  Nance,  William  M.  Keith ;  Boone,  Lafayette  L. 
Coffman;  Bradley,  William  S.  Goodwin;  Calhoun,  Robert  F. 
Dedman ;  Carroll,  William  M.  Brown ;  Chicot,  Joseph  Davies ; 
Clark,  J.  E.  Bradley,  John  W.  Herrod ;  Clay,  Bascom  B.  Holli 
field ;  Cleburne,  George  W.  Crosby ;  Cleveland,  R.  F.  Foster ; 
Columbia,  William  H.  Armstrong,  John  C.  Colquitt ;  Conway, 
William  S.  Hanna,  B.  M.  Stevens ;  Craighead,  William  W.  Gate ; 
Crawford,  Lee  Neal,  Randolph  Comstock;  Crittenden,  Frank  G. 
Smith;  Cross,  James  D.  McKie ;  Dallas,  G.  M.  D.  Overman; 
Desha,  Frank  M.  Rogers ;  Drew,  James  R.  Gotham ;  Faulkner, 
Isaac  M.  Campbell ;  Franklin,  Ed  H.  Mathes,  William  L.  Wag- 
ner;  Fulton,  William  WT.  Brooks;  Garland,  James  L.  Wadley, 
J.  D.  Kimbell ;  Grant,  John  W.  Lybrand  ;  Greene,  Joseph  H.  Lid- 
dell  ;  Hempstead,  Levi  A.  Reece,  Rufus  A.  Leslie;  Hot  Spring, 
William  Lambert ;  Howard,  William  J.  Lee ;  Independence, 
Albert  M.  Hathcock,  Francis  M.  Martin;  Izard,  W7iley  Croom ; 
Jackson,  Wriley  M.  Baird  ;  Jefferson,  Sam  F.  Hilzheim,  William 
E.  Sallee,  George  L.  Blackwell ;  Johnson,  John  J.  Quick  ; 
Lafayette,  Joseph  W.  Wrarren ;  Lawrence,  Phillip  B.  Hill ;  Lee, 
William  L.  Howard.  John  B.  Vineyard ;  Little  River,  J.  P. 
Romines;  Lincoln,  F.  M.  McGehee ;  Logan,  Henry  B.  Walker, 
George  R.  Brown ;  Lonoke,  William  H.  Eagle,  Joseph  T.  Rob- 
inson ;  Madison,  William  C.  Roberts;  Marion,  William  R.  Jones: 
Miller,  James  D.  Blanton  ;  Mississippi,  Henry  C.  Dunavant :  M<>< 
roe,  Middleton  J.  Manning;  Montgomery,  Joe  W.  Shaw;  Nevada, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  139 

T.  W.  Hayes;  Newton,  Benjamin  F.  Ruble;  Ouachita,  Frank  W. 
Broadnax ;  Perry,  Milton  Turnage ;  Phillips,  Greenfield  Quarles. 
G.  W.  Yancey;  Pike,  James  P.  Dunn;  Poinsett,  Eli  A.  Brad- 
sher;  Polk,  John  T.  Miller;  Pope,  John  H.  Bullock,  Francis  M. 
Hudson,  Jr. ;  Prairie,  F.  E.  Brown ;  Pulaski,  Thomas  W.  New- 
ton, James  A.  Gray,  Fred  Wolters,  Charles  R.  Monroe;  Ran- 
dolph, A.  J.  Witt;  Saline,  Calvin  B.  Henderson;  Scott,  W.  A. 
Houck;  Searcy,  Ulysses  S.  Bratton;  Sebastian,  J.  S.  Luck,  Ben 
T.  Duval,  T.  H.  Leatherwood;  Sevier,  John  S.  Lake;  Sharp, 
Thomas  I.  Herrn ;  St.  Francis,  William  J.  Matthews ;  Stone, 
George  C.  Hinkle ;  Union,  J.  Monroe  Smith ;  Van  Buren,  T.  C. 
Ford ;  Washington,  Johnson  Crawford,  T.  W.  Thomason,  A. 
Gallaher;  White,  H.  M.  Pope,  Robert  W.  Crisp;  Woodruff, 
Thomas  D.  Patron ;  Yell,  W'.  A.  Clement,  Robert  Toomer. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  14,  1895.  Gibson  Witt 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Charles  T.  Gordon,  secretary. 
John  C.  Colquitt  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  George  C.  Naylor, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  April  10,  1895. 

The  greater  part  of  the  inaugural  address  of  Governor  Clarke 
was  taken"  with  the  subject  of  a  new  constitutional  convention. 
"At  the  time  the  present  constitution  was  framed,"  said  he,  "we 
stood  in  the  darkness  and  doubt  of  the  reconstruction  period 
and,  consulting  the  demands  of  personal  liberty,  desperately 
assailed,  we  moulded  its  provisions  as  if  the  government  might 
at  any  time  be  taken  from  the  bona  fide  citizens  of  the  state 
and  turned  back  to  those  who  had  shown  that  they  were  wanting 
either  in  capacity  or  inclination  to  administer  it  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  whole  people." 

He  expressed  himself  as  favoring  a  four-year  term  of  office 
for  all  state  and  county  offices,  and  the  limitation  of  the  right  to 
hold  any  office  to  a  single  term. 

Of  the  Acts  passed  at  this  session  of  the  General  Assembly, 
the  following  were  important :  An  Act  to  revive  and  extend  the 
charter  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  Railroad  Company;  an  Act  tax- 
ing national  bank  notes,  United  States  treasury  notes,  etc.,  cir- 
culating as  currency;  another  permitting  corporations  to  reduce 
the  amount  of  their  capital  stock ;  an  Act  giving  laborers  a  lien 
upon  property  for  work  performed  thereon ;  declaring  the  wilful 
destruction  of  property  by  explosives  a  felony ;  permitting  rail- 


140  Ol'TIJNE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

road  companies  to  grant  free  passes  to  county  sheriffs;  appro- 
priating $10,000.00  for  an  exhibit  of  the  state's  products  at  the 
Atlanta  Exposition;  an  Act  to  enable  counties  to  refund  their 
bonded  indebtedness,  and  an  Act  to  authorize  municipal  corpo- 
rations to  condemn  private  property  for  the  construction  or 
extension  of  waterworks  systems. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  141 

DANIEL  WEBSTER  JONES 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  14,  1897 — JANUARY  17,  1901 

Daniel  Webster  Jones,  "nineteenth  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  in  Bowie  county,  Texas,  December  15,  1839, 
a  son  of  Dr.  Isaac  N.  and  Elizabeth  (Littlejohn)  Jones.  His 
maternal  grandfather  was  a  Scotchman  who  served  in  the  Con- 
tinental Army  during  the  American  Revolution.  While  Daniel 
was  still  in  his  early  childhood  his  parents  removed  to  Washing- 
ton, Arkansas.  There  he  attended  the  Washington  Academy, 
then  conducted  by  B.  J.  Borden,  under  whose  instruction  he 
acquired  a  practical  education. 

Upon  leaving  the  academy,  he  began  the  study  of  law  with 
John  R.  Eakin,  afterward  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Arkansas 
Supreme  Court,  but  at  the  breaking  out  of  war  in  1861  he  laid 
aside  his  law  books  to  enlist  in  Company  A,  Third  Arkansas 
State  Troops,  commanded  by  John  R.  Gratiot.  This  regiment 
received  its  baptism  of  fire  at  the  battle  of  Oak  Hills  (or  Wil- 
son's Creek),  Missouri,  August  10,  1861.  Soon  after  that  engage- 
ment Jones  raised  Company  A,  Twentieth  Arkansas  Infantry, 
and  was  elected  captain.  In  July,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to 
major.  At  the  battle  of  Corinth,  Mississippi,  October  4,  1862, 
he  was  shot  through  the  body,  the  ball  passing  just  below  the 
heart,  and  he  was  taken  prisoner.  Despite  the  dangerous  nature 
of  his  wound  he  recovered.  After  his  exchange  he  returned  to 
his  regiment  and  was  shortly  appointed  colonel,  although  only 
twenty-three  years  of  age.  The  order  for  his  promotion  stated 
that  it  was  "for  gallant  conduct  upon  the  field."  He  commanded 
the  regiment  until  the  close  of  the  war,  except  for  the  short  time 
he  was  a  prisoner  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  in  July,  1863. 

After  the  war  he  began  the  practice  of  law  at  Washington, 
Arkansas.  In  1874  he  was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  of  the 
Ninth  Circuit,  and  declined  a  re-election  two  years  later.  He 
was  one  of  the  presidential  electors  from  the  Second  Congres- 
sional District,  in  1876  and  in  1880  was  one  of  the  electors  at 
large.  At  the  state  election  in  1884  he  was  elected  attorney-gen- 
eral and  was  re-elected  in  1886.  In  1890  he  was  elected  to  the 
house  of  representatives  from  Pulaski  county.  He  was  elected 
governor  in  1896  and  again  in  1898,  serving  two  full  terms. 
Upon  retiring  from  the  governor's  office  he  practiced  law  in 


142  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Little  Rock  until  a  short  time  before  his  death.  His  last  public 
service  was  as  a  representative  from  Pulaski  county  in  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  1915.  He  died  December  25,  1918.  He  was 
buried  in  a  Confederate  uniform,  to  which  he  had  pinned  an 
American  flag  a  short  time  before  his  death. 

On  February  9,  1864,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Maggie  P.  Had- 
ley,  a  daughter  of  James  Hadley.  Five  children  were  born  of 
this  manage,  Claudius,  Elizabeth  Wilson,  Bobbie  Newton,  Daniel 
Webster  and  Howard  Hadley. 

Thirty-First  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirty-first  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  7,  1896.     The  senate  was  made  up  of  thirty  Demo- 
crats, one  Republican  and  one  Populist.    There  were  ninety  Dem- 
ocrats, eight  Populists  and  two  Republicans  in  the  house. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Clay, 
Craighead  and  Greene  counties),  John  M.  Raines;  Second  (Law- 
rence, Sharp  and  Randolph),  A.  J.  Witt;  Third  (Boone,  Car- 
roll and  Newton),  W.  B.  Morton;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
G.  T.  Cazort;  Fifth  (Washington),  R.  J.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Inde- 
pendence and  Stone),  A.  G.  Gray;  Seventh  (Crittenden,  Cross, 
St.  Francis  and  Woodruff),  Van  B.  Izard;  Eighth  (Logan  and 
Yell),  R.  D.  McMullin;  Ninth  (Grant,  Hot  Spring  and  Saline), 
William  Lambert;  Tenth  (Perry  and  Pulaski),  B.  D.  Williams, 
R.  W.  Worthen;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  William  P.  Grace; 
Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  G.  W.  Cranberry;  Thirteenth 
(Arkansas  and  Monroe),  M.  J.  Manning;  Fourteenth  (Lee  and 
Phillips),  Greenfield  Quarles;  Fifteenth  (Chicot  and  Desha), 
George  C.  Shell;  Sixteenth  (Cleveland,  Dallas  and  Lincoln), 
F.  M.  McGehee;  Seventeenth  (Ashley  and  Drew),  J.  G.  William- 
son; Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  J.  M.  Smith;  Nine- 
teenth (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  E. .  L.  Hathcock;  Twentieth 
(Hernpstead  and  Nevada),  T.  W.  Hays;  Twenty-first  (Columbia, 
Lafayette  and  Miller),  David  L.  King;  Twenty-second  (Howard, 
Little  River,  Polk  and  Sevier),  W.  H.  Collins;  Twenty-third 
(Baxter,  Fulton,  Izard  and  Marion),  J.  C.  South;  Twenty-fourth 
(Benton  and  Madison),  J.  A.  C.  Blackburn;  Twenty-fifth  (Craw- 
ford and  Franklin),  J.  K.  P.  Douglass;  Twenty-sixth (  Cleburne, 
Conway,  Searcy  and  Van  Buren),  William  L.  Moose;  Twenty- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  143 

Seventh  (Faulkner  and  White),  J.  V.  Connell ;  Twenty-eighth 
(Scott  and  Sebastian),  H.  J.  Hall;  Twenty-ninth  (Jackson,  Mis- 
sissippi and  Poinsett),  G.  A.  Hillhouse;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and 
Pike),  J.  C.  Pinnex;  Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Montgomery), 
J.  D.'  Kimbell. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Jeff  D. 
Ferguson;  Ashley,  P.  T.  Butler;  Baxter,  William  T.  Hopper; 
Benton,  William  M.  Keith,  P.  A.  Rogers;  Boone,  Lafayette  L. 
Coffman  ;  Bradley,  John  R.  Gannaway;  Calhoun,  K.  E.  Wither- 
ington;  Carroll,  F.  O.  Butt;  Chicot,  Henry  F.  Holt;  Clark, 
George  W.  L.  Fortune,  William  E.  Welch;  Clay,  B.  B.  Hollifield; 
Cleveland,  Jesse  F.  Johnson ;  Columbia,  Dennis  D.  Hartsell,  John 
C.  Jackson ;  Conway,  Algernon  F.  Vandeventer,  George  W. 
Griffin ;  Craighead,  Frederick  G.  West ;  Crawford,  Randolph 
Comstock,  Solomon  L.  Jeffers  ;  Crittenden,  Frank  G.  JSmith ;  Dal- 
las, R.  C.  Fuller ;  Desha,  John  W.  Dickinson;  Drew,  N.  Y.  Wads- 
worth  ;  Faulkner,  P.  H.  Prince ;  Franklin,  William  W.  Cotton ; 
L.  H.  Burrow;  Fulton,  J.  L.  Short;  Garland,  Alphonos  Curl, 
George  F.  Rowe ;  Grant,  John  P.  Harper ;  Greene,  J.  M.  Futrell ; 
Hempstead,  James  W.  Ellis,  William  A.  B  riant ;  Hot  Spring, 
Horatio  Barnett ;  Howard,  John  F.  Briggs ;  Independence,  J.  W. 
Goodwin,  John  C.  Stroud;  Tzard,  William  B.  Hamm;  Jackson, 
John  H.  Keel ;  Jefferson,  W.  G.  Street,  McLemore  H.  Williams, 
W.  E.  Sallee;  Johnson,  B.  F.  Wofford;  Lafayette,  J.  W.  Warren; 
Lawrence,  Benjamin  A.  Morris;  Lee,  John  B.  Vineyard,  J.  E. 
Wood ;  Lincoln,  H.  R.  Lucas ;  Little  River,  John  C.  Head;  Logan, 
Theodore  F.  Potts,  W.  R.  Ford;  Lonoke,  William  H.  Eagle, 
James  H.  Hicks ;  Madison,  Samuel  M.  Johnson ;  Marion,  William 
R.  Jones ;  Miller,  William  F.  Kirby ;  Mississippi,  William  J. 
Driver;  Monroe,  John  F.  Lee;  Montgomery,  J.  W.  Shaw; 
Nevada,  James  O.  A.  Bush ;  Newton,  William  B.  Moss ; 
Ouachita,  Charles  J.  Parker;  Perry,  Albert  W.  Rison ;  Phillips, 
James  C.  Tappan,  John  W.  Keese ;  Pike,  John  C.  Hughes ;  Poin- 
sett, Nicholas  J.  Willis ;  Polk,  R.  T.  Connally ;  Pope,  J.  H.  Bul- 
lock, F.  M.  Hudson ;  Prairie,  F.  E.  Brown ;  Pulaski,  George  C. 
Naylor,  John  D.  Shackelford,  John  F.  See,  John  H.  Toughey; 
Randolph,  M.  D.  Bowers ;  Saline,  W.  N.  Baldridge ;  Scott,  Jacob 
W.  Rogers ;  Searcy,  U.  S.  Bratton ;  Sebastian,  Thomas  P.  Yadon, 
John  E.  Tatum,  William  D.  Buckley;  Sevier,  John  S.  Lake; 
Sharp,  Thomas  I.  Herrn ;  St.  Francis,  F.  W.  DeRossett ;  Stone, 
Jacob  King ;  Union,  P.  F.  Matthews ;  Van  Buren,  M.  B.  Lefler ; 


144  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

.Washington,  James  H.  Van  Hoose,  Julius  H.  Amaker,  R.  A. 
Meclearis;  White,  R.  W.  Crisp,  Sidney  P.  Pennington ;  Wood- 
ruff, Thomas  D.  Patton ;  Yell,  George  E.  Floyd,  David  Ellison. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  11,  1897.  William  L. 
Moose'  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  W.  Howell, 
secretary.  J.  C.  Tappan  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  O.  C.  Lud- 
wig,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  11,  1897. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  Governor  Jones  recommended  the 
establishment  of  a  railroad  commission.  Said  he  upon  the  sub- 
ject: "The  constitution  provides  that  'the  General  Assembly 
shall  have  no  power  to  create  any  permanent  state  office  not 
expressly  provided  for  by  this  constitution.'  Whether  a  railroad 
commission  is  such  a  state  office  as  comes  within  the  inhibition 
is  a  mooted  question.  To  be  on  the  safe  side,  and  to  avoid  the 
necessity  for  its  judicial  determination,  I  recommend  the  pas- 
sage of  an  Act  creating  the  commission  temporarily,  to  hold 
office  until  the  adjournment  of  the  next  General  Assembly,  and 
defining  its  powers  and  duties,  and  providing  in  the  Act  that  there 
be  submitted  to  the  people  of  the  state,  at  the  next  general  elec- 
tion, an  amendment  to  the  constitution  providing  for  and  author- 
izing the  creation  of  such  offices ;  then  at  such  election  there  shall 
be  elected  by  the  people  of  the  state,  railroad  commissioners,  who,, 
upon  the  adoption  of  such  amendment,  shall  hold  office  for  def- 
inite terms  to  be  fixed  by  the  Act." 

The  following  were  the  principal  Acts  of  this  session :  To 
authorize  Pulaski  county  to  fix  tolls  and  apply  the  proceeds  to 
the  redemption  of  overdue  bridge  warrants  issued  for  the  build- 
ing of  the  bridge  over  the  Arkansas  river  at  Little  Rock ;  to  estab- 
lish county  normal  institutes ;  to  provide  for  a  quarantine  against 
contagious  diseases  in  domestic  animals;  to  prevent  the  forma- 
tion of  trust  and  combinations  to  control  the  production  or  price 
of  commodities;  and  to  authorize  farmers  to  organize  mutual 
insurance  associations. 

A  special  session  of  this  Assembly  was  called  by  the  gover- 
nor to  meet  on  April  26,  1897.  It  lasted  until  June  16,  1897.  The 
objects  of  the  session,  as  stated  in  the  proclamation  of  the  gov- 
ernor, were:  To  make  appropriations  for  the  several  depart- 
ments of  the  state  government  and  the  educational  and  charitable 
institutions ;  to  amend  the  general  election  laws ;  to  create  a  rail- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  145 

road  commission;  to  make  some  provisions  for  an  exhibit  of 
the  state's  products  at  the  Tennessee  Centennial  Exposition  at 
Nashville,  and  the  Trans-Mississippi  Exposition  at  Omaha;  and 
to  enact  a  law  by  which  state  railroads  might  be  built  with  con- 
vict labor. 

The  appropriations  recommended  by  the  governor  were 
made;  an  appropriation  of  $12,500.00  was  made  for  an  electric 
light  plant  at  the  penitentiary ;  certain  lands  were  granted  to  the 
Springfield,  Little  Rock  &  Gulf  Railroad  Company;  the  gover- 
nor, auditor  and  attorney-general  were  created  a  state  board  with 
power  "to  locate,  survey  and  build  state  railroads  and  telegraph 
lines,  receive  donations,  employ  convicts,"  etc.  No  action  was 
taken  upon  the  governor's  recommendation  regarding  the  creation 
of  a  railroad  commission,  probably  for  the  reason  that  a  con- 
stitutional amendment  for  that  purpose  had  been  submitted  to 
the  people  by  the  preceding  session,  and  the  Legislature  deemed 
it  advisable  to  wait  until  the  fate  of  that  amendment  had  been 
decided  at  the  general  election  in  1898. 

Thirty-Second  General  Assembly  — 

«  Members  of  the  thirty-second  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  5,  1898.  The  thirty-two  senators  were  all  Democrats. 
But  for  two  Republicans,  the  house  was  made  up  of  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  John  M.  Raines;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  A.  J  .Witt;  Third  (Carroll,  Boone 
and  Newton),  Lawrence  W.  Clark;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
Robert  L.  Lawrence;  Fifth  (Washington),  Robert  J.  Wilson; 
Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  Jacob  King;  Seventh  (Wood- 
ruff, St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  William  E.  Ferguson; 
Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  Robert  D.  McMullin;  Ninth  (Saline, 
Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  William  Lambert;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
Perry),  John  D.  Shackelford,  John  F.  McNemer;  Eleventh  (Jef- 
ferson), Smith  C.  Martin;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie), 
Eugene  Lankford;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  M.  J. 
Manning;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  Greenfield  Quarles ; 
Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  Richard  A.  Buckner;  Sixteenth 
(Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas),  F.  M.  McGehee;  Seventeenth 
(Drew  and  Ashley),  P.  T.  Butler;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and 
Union),  J.  M.  Smith;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita, 


146  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Thomas  W.  Hardy;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada), 
George  R.  Haynie ;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and 
Miller),  W.  F.  Kirby ;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier, 
Howard  and  Polk),  W.  H.  Collins;  Twenty-fourth  (Benton  and 
Madison),  Nelson  J.  Carlock ;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and 
Franklin),  J.  K.  P.  Douglas;  Twenty-sixth  (Van  Buren,  Con- 
way,  Searcy  and  Cleburne),  William  T.  Hammock;  Twenty- 
seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  Richard  A.  Dowdy;  Twenty- 
eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott) T  H.  J.  Hall;  Twenty-ninth  (Poin- 
sett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  George  A.  Hillhouse ;  Thirtieth 
(Clark  and  Pike),  Thomas  N.  Wilson;  Thirty-first  (Garland 
and  Montgomery),  J.  D.  Kimball. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  John  W. 
Crockett ;  Ashler,  Thomas  F.  Mears ,-  Baxter,  James  T.  Jones ; 
Benton,  Harry  L.  Patton,  R.  L.  Nance ;  Boone,  James  T.  Craig ; 
Bradley,  John  J.  Gannaway;  Calhoun,  Charles  L.  Poole ;  Carroll, 
Festus  O.  Butt;  Chicot,  Henry  F.  Holt;  Clark,  Stephen  P.  Mea- 
dor,  James  C.  Turner;  Clay,  Thomas  B.  Barker;  Cleburne, 
William  E.  Martin  ;  Cleveland,  William  J.  Stanfirld ;  Columbia, 
John  C.  Colquitt,  John  W.  Fields ;  Conway,  Algernon  F.  Vande- 
venter,  George  W.  Griffin ;  Craighead,  Frederick  G.  West ;  Craw- 
ford, Berkeley  Neal,  Robert  L.  Rogers :  Crittenden,  S.  A.  Mar- 
tin ;  Cross,  James  E.  Smith ;  Dallas,  Joseph  F.  Gill ;  Desha,  Percy 
B.  Blackburn ;  Drew,  Joseph  F.  Hughes ;  Faulkner,  George  W. 
Clark;  Franklin,  William  W.  Cotton,  Hartley  M.  Walton;  Ful- 
ton, Joseph  L.  Short;  Garland,  Richard  H.  Taylor,  E.  W.  Rec- 
tor ;  Grant,  T.  Havis  Nixon ;  Greene,  George  O.  Light ;  Hemp- 
stead,  Thomas  C.  Jobe,  Levi  A.  Reece ;  Hot  Spring,  Jonathan  L. 
Hall;  Howard,  J.  T.  M.  Holt;  Independence,  Ernest  Neill, 
Alfred  M.  Hath  cock ;  Izard,  Granville  S.  Rector;  Jackson,  Otis 
W.  Scarborough ;  Jefferson,  Harden  K.  Toney,  Creed  Caldwell, 
R.  F.  Foster;  Johnson,  Benjamin  F.  Wofford;  Lafayette,  Samp- 
son L.  Harris ;  Lawrence,  Harry  L.  Ponder ;  Lee,  J.  E.  Wood, 
Tames  M.  Hall ;  Lincoln,  Williford  F.  Norton ;  Little  River,  James 
D.  Head ;  Logan,  Jacob  R.  Raper,  H.  M.  Westmoreland ;  Lonoke, 
John  Bowers,  Sr.,  George  W.  Hendrix ;  Madison,  Samuel  M. 
Johnson;  Marion,  James  M.  Coker;  Miller,  James  A.  Walker; 
Mississippi,  Thomas  A.  Matthews ;  Monroe,  Oliver  M.  Norman ; 
Montgomery,  George  H.  Spear,  Jr. ;  Nevada,  Pinkney  B.  Jones ; 
Newton,  William  B.  Moss;  Ouachita,  Charles  J.  Parker;  Perry; 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  147 

John  M.  Wallace;  Phillips,  James  C.  Tappan,  John  W.  Keesee; 
Pike,  Moses  K.  Brock;  Poinsett,  John  D.  Steele;  Polk.,  John  I. 
Alley;  Pope,  Tom  D.  Brooks,  Joseph  Howard;  Prairie,  Alfred 
L.  Aydelott;  Pulaski,  John  H.  Toughey,  George  W.  Williams, 
John  Barrow,  Edward  W.  Winfield;  Randolph,  Clarence  H. 
Henderson ;  Saline,  Charles  D.  Ewell ;  Scott,  James  O.  Sullivan ; 
•Searcey,  Joseph  S.  Evans ;  Sebastian,  J.  F.  Weaver,  Thomas  P. 
Yadon,  John  E.  Tatum;  Sevier,  William  F.  Nichols;  Sharp, 
Thomas  I.  Herrn ;  St.  Francis,  Sam  M.  Blalock;  Stone,  Samuel 
M.  Casey;  Union,  W.  Douglas  Chew;  Van  Buren,  Martin  B. 
Lefler;  Washington,  Thomas  H.  Humphreys,  Thomas  B.  Greer, 
Sterling  P.  Williams ;  White,  John  C.  McCauley,  James  B.  Arm- 
strong; Woodruff,  William  T.  Trice;  Yell,  George  E.  Floyd, 
J.  W.  Clack. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  9,  1899.  M.  J.  Man- 
ning was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  John  W.  Howell,  sec- 
retary. A.  F.  Yandeventer  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  G.  B. 
Sims,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  April  19,  1899. 

The  more  important  of  the  general  Acts  passed  were:  To 
create  a  railroad  commission,  as  authorized  by  constitutional 
amendment  adopted  in  September,  1898,  and  directing  the  gov- 
ernor to  appoint  three  persons,  not  interested  in  any  railroad 
company,  to  serve  until  the  next  general  election;  to  appropriate 
the  sum  of  $10,500.00  to  reimburse  persons  for  money  advanced 
to  the  governor  to  enable  him  to  raise*  the  two  regiments  called 
for  by  the  United  States  for  service  in  the  Spanish-American 
War ;  to  extend  the  charters  of  certain  railroad  companies  whose 
lines  were  unfinished;  to  regulate  the  rates  for  weighing  and 
marking  cotton ;  to  provide  a  more  equitable  method  of  weighing 
or  measuring  coal  at  the  mine;  to  appropriate  $24,650.00  for 
an  infirmary  at  the  lunatic,  asylum ;  to  provide  for  a  system  of 
uniform  text-books  to  be  used  in  the  public  schools  of  each 
county ;  to  fund  the  state  debt,  and  to  restrict  the  sale  of  cocaine. 

The  most  important  Act  of  the  session  was  the  one  providing 
for  a  new  state  capitol  on  the  grounds  occupied  by  the  peniten- 
tiary. By  this  Act  the  governor  was  authorized  to  appoint  a 
board,  composed  of  one  member  from  each  congressional  district, 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  the  building ;  the  penitentiary  board 
was  instructed  to  obtain  a  new  site  for  the  prison  at  some  suitable 
point  in  Pulaski  county,  and  an  appropriation  of  $1,000,000  was 
made  for  the  erection  of  the  new  capitol. 


148  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

JEFFERSON  DAVIS 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  17,  1901 — JANUARY  18,  1907 

Jefferson  Davis,  twentieth  governor  of  the  State  of  Arkansas, 
was  born  near  Richmond,  Little  River  county,  Arkansas,  May 
6,  1862.  When  he  was  about  seven  years  of  age  his  parents,. 
Lewis  A.  and  Elizabeth  Davis,  removed  to  Russellville,  Pope 
county,  where  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  and  at  the  University  of  Arkansas,  but  before  com- 
pleting his  course  in  the  latter  institution  he  left  it  to  enter  the 
law  department  of  Vanderbilt  University,  at  Nashville,  Tennes- 
see. He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  before  he  attained  his  majority, 
and  began  practice  at  Russellville.  In  1890  he  was  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  of  the  Fifth  Circuit  and  was  re-electd  in  1892. 
In  1898  he  was  elected  attorney-general  for  a  term  of  two  years 
and  while  holding  that  office  was  nominated  as  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  governor,  to  which  office  he  was  elected  in  Sep- 
tember, 1900. 

Mr.  Davis  was  the  second  native  of  Arkansas  elected  to  the 
office  of  governor.  He  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  man 
ever  elected  to  the  office  three  terms  in  succession.  In  February, 
1907,  he  was  elected  United  States  Senator  to  succeed  James  H. 
Berry,  for  the  term  beginning  March  4,  1907.  Soon  after  taking 
his  seat  in  the  Senate,  he  shocked  the  "old-timers"  by  daring  to 
make  a  speech.  Senatorial  dignity  and  tradition  had  established 
a  precedent  that  a  new  senator  should  "be  seen  and  not  heard" 
during  his  first  term.  But  Davis  cared  nothing  for  precedents. 
When  he  had  anything  to  say,  he  said  it. 

In  1912  he  was  the  choice  of  the  people  at  the  primary  elec- 
tion for  a  second  term  as  senator,  but  died  before  his  nomination 
could  be  confirmed  by  the  General  Assembly.  For  several  weeks 
before  his  death  he  had  been  taking  a  course  of  treatment  to 
reduce  his  weight.  Only  a  day  or  two  before  he  died  he  was 
boasting  to  his  law  partner  that  he  had  lost  in  weight  and  was 
feeling  much  better  as  a  result.  At  the  supper  table  on  the 
evening  of  January  2,  1913,  he  complained  of  feeling  ill  and  a 
physician  was  summoned.  Before  the  doctor  arrived,  Davis  was 
feeling  better,  and  it  was  then  thought  that  the  ailment  was 
nothing  serious.  The  family  retired  early  and  shortly  after  mid- 
night his  son,  Wallace  Davis,  heard  him  call  and  went  to  his 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  149 

room.  Again  the  physician  was  called,  but  just  as  he  entered 
the  room  Mr.  Davis  fell  back  on  his  pillow  and  expired  before 
relief  could  be  administered.  He  was  buried  in  Mount  Holly 
Cemetery  at  Little  Rock.  Thousands  attended  his  funeral.  No 
man  in  public  life  in  Arkansas  ever  had  as  many  or  true  friends. 

Mr.  Davis  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Miss  Ina 
McKenzie,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  Russellville  in  1887. 
Twelve  children  were  born  to  this  marriage,  eight  of  whom  sur- 
vived their  father,  viz:  Wallace,  Bessie,  Lynah,  Janie,  Jeff  Jr., 
Ina,  Lucile  and  Lewis.  In  December,  1911,  Mr.  Davis  married 
Miss  Lelia  Carter,  who  was  still  living  in  1921,  when  this  was 
written. 

Thirty -Third  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirty-third  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  3,   1900.     The  senate  was  solidly  Democratic.     The 
house  was  made  up  of  ninety-six  Democrats,  two  Republicans; 
one  Populist  and  one  Independent. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Craighead  and  Clay  counties),  Michael  P.  Huddleston;  Second 
(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  David  L.  King;  Third  (Car- 
roll, Boone  and  Newton),  Lawrence  W.  Clark;  Fourth  (Johnson 
and  Pope),  Robert  L.  Lawrence;  Fifth  (Washington),  Robert 
J.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  Jacob  King; 
Seventh  (Woodruff,  St.  Francis,  Cross  and  Crittenden),  William 
E.  Ferguson;  Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  George  R.  Brown;  Ninth 
(Saline,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  Reuben  R.  Adams;  Tenth 
(Pulaski  and  Perry),  John  D.  Shackelford,  J.  F.  McNemer; 
Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Creed  Caldwell;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and 
Prairie),  Eugene  Lankford ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe), 
Byron  Price;  Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  James  E.  Wood; 
Fifteenth  (Desha  and  Chicot),  Richard  A.  Buckner;  Sixteenth 
(Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas),  Paul  B.  Matlock ;  Seventeenth 
(Drew  and  Ashley),  P.  T.  Butler;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and 
Union),  Aylmer  Flenniken ;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita), 
Thomas  W.  Hardy;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada), 
George  R.  Haynie;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and 
Miller),  William  F.  Kirby;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier, 
Howard  and  Polk),  Hal  L.  Norwood;  Twenty-third  (Fulton, 
Izard,  Marion  and  Baxter),  Joseph  L.  Short;  Twenty- fourth 


150  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

(Benton  and  Madison),  Nelson  J.  Carlock;  Twenty-fifth  (Craw- 
ford and  Franklin),  William  W.  Cotton;  Twenty-sixth  (Van 
Buren,  Conway,  Searcy  and  Cleburne),  William  T.  Hammock; 
Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  R.  A.  Dowdy;  Twenty- 
eighth  (Sebastian  and  Scott),  George  Sengel ;  Twenty-ninth 
Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  John  J.  Mardis ;  Thirtieth 
(Clark  and  Pike),  Thomas  N.  Wilson;  Thirty-first  (Garland  arid 
Montgomery),  Gibson  Witt. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Richard 
H.  Parker;  Ashley,  Thomas  E.  Mears;  Baxter,  James  T.  Jones; 
Benton,  Harry  L.  Patton,  William  F.  Greene ;  Boone,  James  T. 
Craig;  Bradley,  John  R.  Gannaway;  Calhoun,  Charles  L.  Poole ; 
Carroll,  William  R.  Phillips ;  Chicot,  Samuel  F.  Horner ;  Clark, 
Stephen  P.  Meador,  James  C.  Turner;  Clay,  Edward  M.  Allen; 
Cleburne,  William  E.  Martin ;  Cleveland,  William  J.  Starifield ; 
Columbia,  John  W.  Fields,  A.  S.  Kilgore ;  Conway,  Will  P. 
Strait,  Thomas  Moody;  Craighead,  Richard  H.  West;  Crawford, 
Berkley  Neal,  Randolph  Comstock ;  Crittenden,  S.  A.  Martin  ; 
Cross.  Ollie  N.  Killough ;  Dallas,  Joseph  F.  Gill ;  Desha,  Percy 
B.  Blackburn;  Drew,  Joseph  F.  Hughes;  Faulkner,  George  W. 
Clark ;  Franklin,  Bartley  M.  Welton,  William  D.  Rodman ;  Ful- 
ton, William  R.  Chestnut ;  Garland,  James  B.  Fulton,  Robert  S. 
Dean;  Grant,  John  L.  Butler;  Greene,  J.  Marion  Futrall ;  Hemp- 
stead,  Thomas  C.  Jobe,  James  W.  Ellis  ;  Hot  Spring,  Henry  B. 
Means;  Howard,  J.  T.  M.  Holt;  Independence,  Aurelius  G.  Gray, 
William  S.  Wright;  Izard,  (Inmville  S.  Rector;  Jackson,  John 
H.  Keel;  Jefferson,  Harden  K.  Toney,  Jesse  D.  Bush,  E.  B. 
Waddell ;  Johnson,  William  H.  Robins;  Lafayette,  Tilman  B. 
Parks ;  Lawrence,  Harry  L.  Ponder ;  Lee,  John  P.  Farrar,  James 
E.  Leary ;  Lincoln,  Williford.  F.  Norton;  Little  River,  Jeff  T. 
Cowling;  Logan,  John  W.  Spain,  William  R.  Ford;  Lonoke, 
H.  T.  Bradroed,  James  B.  Gray;  Madison,  James  B.  Harris; 
Marion,  George  G.  Perry ;  Miller,  Ephraim  H.  Peyton ;  Missis- 
sippi, James  K.  P.  Llale ;  Monroe,  Thomas  H.  Jackson;  Mont- 
gomery, James  N.  Wasson ;  Nevada,  Pinkney  B.  Jones ;  New- 
ton, Willis  W.  Moore;  Ouachita,  John  R.  Wright;  Perry,  James 
M.  Shackelford;  Phillips,  John  I.  Moore,  Samuel  L.  Cook;  Pike, 
Moses  K.  Brock;  Poinsett,  John  W.  Rooks;  Polk.,  John  I.  Alley; 
Pope,  Thomas  D.  Brooks  ;  James  A.  McCracken  ;  Prairie,  Thomas 
P.  Atkins ;  Pulaski,  George  W.  Williams,  Roy  D.  Campbell,  ( Jus 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  151 

G.  Griffith,  Farrar  L.  McCain ;  Randolph,  Thomas  W.  Campbell; 
Saline,  Washington  C.  Whitthorne ;  Scott,  Samuel  W.  Simpson; 
Searcy,  J.  F.  Henley ;  Sebastian,  J.  F.  Weaver,  John  H.  Holland, 
Robert  T.  Powell ;  Sevier,  William  F.  Nichols ;  Sharp,  William 
E.  Pounders ;  St.  Francis,  Samuel  M.  Blalock ;  Stone,  Emmett 
Jeffery ;  Union,  William  D.  Chew ;  Van  Buren,  George  G.  Per- 
kins ;  Washington,  Thomas  H.  Humphreys,  John  P.  Stafford, 
Ardivan  W.  Mintun ;  White,  Elbert  A.  Robins,  Thomas  B.  Bob- 
bitt;  Woodruff,  Harry  M.  Woods;  Yell,  Joseph  A.  Taylor,  J.  W. 
Clack. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  14,  1901.  Robert  J. 
Wilson  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  J.  F.  Hurley,  secre- 
tary. T.  H.  Humphreys  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  A.  S.  Hays, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  May  4,  1901. 

On  January  23,  1901,  the  two  houses  met  in  joint  session  and 
elected  James  H. . Berry  United  States  Senator  for  the  term  begin- 
ning on  the  4th  of  the  following  March. 

The  principal  Acts  of  the  session  were :  To  authorize  cities 
of  the  first  and  second  classes  to  establish  public  libraries ;  to 
repeal  the  Act  of  1897  creating  a  state  board  for  building  state 
railroads ;  to  increa-se-  the  number  of  state  senators  to  thirty-five ; 
to  divide  the  state  into  seven  congressional  districts;  to  provide 
for  the  organization  of  street  railway  and  interurban  traction 
companies ;  to  prohibit  false  statements  by  banks  and  the  receiv- 
ing of  money  on  deposit  by  insolvent  banks ;  to  adopt  the  apple 
blossom  as  the  state  flower;  to  prohibit  students  in  the  University 
of  Arkansas  from  belonging  to  fraternities,  or  the  employment 
of  any  one  as  an  instructor  in  the  University  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  any  such  fraternity ;  to  authorize  the  University  of  Arkan- 
sas to  procure  arms  from  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  in  giving  military  instruction  to  the  students. 

Thirty-Fourth  General  Assembly— 

Members  of  the  thirty-fourth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  1,  1^02.  The  senators  were  all  Democrats.  The  rep- 
resentatives were  all  Democrats  but  for  two  Republican  mem- 
bers. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  Michael  P.  Huddleston ;  Second 


152  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  David  L.  King;  Third 
(Marion,  Boone  and  Newton),  Benjamin  E.  McFerrin ;  Fourth 
(Johnson  and  Pope),  Alonzo  W.  Covington ;  Fifth  (Washing- 
ton), Robert  J.  Wilson;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  John 
A.  Hinkle;  Seventh  (Cross  and  Woodruff),  Oliver  N.  Kilough ; 
Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  George  R.  Brown;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot 
Spring  and  Grant),  Reuben  R.  Adams;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
Perry),  Albert  W.  Rison,  James  A.  Gray)  ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson), 
Creed  Caldwell ;  Twelfth  (Lpnoke  and  Prairie),  William  P. 
Fletcher;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  Byron  Price; 
Fourteenth  (Lee  and  Phillips),  James  E.  Wood;  Fifteenth  (Ash- 
ley and  Chicot),  Thomas  E.  Mears ;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleve- 
land and  Dallas),  Paul  G.  Matlock ;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and 
Desha),  Calvin  T.  Gotham;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union), 
Aylmar  Flenniken ;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  Thomas 
W.  Hardy;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  Thomas  C. 
Jobe;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  Albert  S. 
Kilgore ;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard), 
Walter  H.  Collins;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard  and  Baxter), 
Joseph  L.  Short;  Twenty- fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  Festus 
( ).  Butt:  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  William  W. 
Cotton:  Twenty-sixth  (Searcy,  Cleburne,  Van  Buren  and  Con- 
way),  Sam  Simpson;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner), 
James  M.  C.  \  aughter ;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  George  Sen- 
gel;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  John  J. 
Mardis ;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  Joseph  C.  Pinnix ;  Thirty- 
first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Gibson  Witt;  Thirty-second 
(Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  Frank  Smith;  Thirty-third  (Scott 
and  Polk),  Hal  L.  Norwood;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton),  John  P. 
Logan. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  George 
Fred  Mattmiller ;  Ashley,  Thomas  Morgan  Hooker ;  Baxter, 
Zephaniah  M.  Horton  ;  Benton,  William  F.  Green,  Emanuel  M. 
Funk ;  Boone,  J.  Sam  Rowland ;  Bradley,  John  R.  Gannaway ; 
Calhoitn,  Charles  L.  Poole ;  Carroll,  C.  A.  Fuller ;  Chicot,  Harry 
E.  Cook ;  Clark,  Lawrence  C.  Newberry,  Duncan  Flanagin ;  Clay, 
Ed  M.  Allen;  Cleburne,  C.  C.  Tarver ;  Cleveland,  Euphrates  Gar- 
rett ;  Columbia,  John  M.  Kelso,  Henry  Stevens ;  Con  way,  George 
W.  Griffin,  A.  C.  Stover ;  Craighead,  William  W.  Gate ;  Craw- 
ford, Park  Crutcher,  John  T.  Winn ;  Crittenden,  Charles  Fran- 
cis Braden  ;  Cross,  J.  T.  Patterson ;  Dallas,  J.  Polk  Scrimshire ; 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  153 

Desha,  Zenophon  Overton  Pindall ;  Drew,  Ibrey  A.  Bird ;  Faulk- 
ner, Benjamin  F.  Witt;  Franklin,  William  D.  Rodman,  William 
Fletcher;  Fulton,  William  R.  Chestnut;  Garland,  Reid  Gantt, 
William  McGuigan;  Grant,  John  L.  Butler;  Greene,  J.  M. 
Futrall ;  Hempstead,  James  W.  Ellis,  W.  A.  Briant ;  Hot  Spring, 
John  W.  Keith;  Howard,  W.  H.  Latimer;  Independence,  Ira  J. 
Matheney,  Claude  Houston  Hogan;  Izard,  A.  C.  Dixon;  Jack- 
son, John  H.  Keel;  Jefferson,  Hardin  K.  Toney,  Jesse  D.  Bush, 
Edwin  J.  Kerwin;  Johnson,  Benjamin  F.  Woofford;  Lafayette, 
Tilman  B.  Parks ;  Lawrence,  James  H.  Mayers ;  Lee,  Leonidas 
Slaughter,  James  M.  Hall ;  Lincoln,  J.  C.  Knox ;  Little  River, 
Aflanded  D.  DuLaney :  Logan,  Thomas  B.  Norfleet,  Thomas 
Jefferson  Daniel;  Lonoke,  A.  G.  Apple,  Jasper  N.  Ferguson; 
Madison,  James  B.  Harris ;  Marion,  George  H.  Perry ;  Miller, 
L.  B.  Holmes;  Mississippi,  James  K.  P.  Hale;  Monroe,  George 
Fleming  Chapline;  Montgomery,  .Robert  M.  Reece;  Nevada, 
Perry  F.  Chappie ;  Newton,  W.  W.  Moore ;  Ouachita,  William  N. 
Greene;  Perry,  George  H.  White;  Phillips,  John  I.  Moore, 
Samuel  L.  Cook ;  Pike,  Thomas  W.  Roundtree ;  Poinsett,  F.d- 
mond  Lytal  Jacobs  Jr. ;  Polk,  William  W.  Whitley ;  Pope,  Alex- 
ander M.  Gibson,  Edward  C.  Bradley;  Prairie,  Thomas  P. 
Atkins ;  Pulaski,  Roy  D.  Campbell,  Edward  M.  Marriman,  John 
Ellis  Martineau,  William  Burt  Brooks ;  Randolph,  Thomas  W. 
Campbell ;  Saline,  Washington  C.  Whitthorne ;  Scott,  Cheves 
Bevill ;  Searcy,  T.  L.  Arnold ;  Sebastian,  J.  F.  Weaver,  John  H. 
Holland,  Jack  Burk ;  Sevier,  Joseph  Holman ;  Sharp,  Horace  B. 
Hill;  St.  Francis,  Frank  W.  DeRossitt;  Stone,  James  Knox 
York ;  Union,  Samuel  Crawford  Baskin ;  Van  Buren,  Garner 
Fraser;  Washington,  John  P.  Stafford,  J.  W.  Thompson,  George 
G.  Stockard ;  White,  R.  W.  Chrisp,  A.  J.  Bell ;  Woodruff,  John 
Dupree  Eldridge;  Yell,  Oscar  Lee  Clements,  John  Edward 
Chambers. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  12,  1903.  Joseph  L. 
Short  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Fletcher  Hurley,  sec- 
retary. John  I.  Moore  was  speaker  of  the  house;  A.  S.  Hays, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  April  30,  1903. 

In  his  message  Governor  Davis  advised  against  the  accep- 
tance of  a  proposition  to  purchase  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Cummins  Farm  for  the  employment  of  state  convicts,  at  a  con- 
sideration of  $140,000.00,  of  which  already  $30,000.00  had  been 


154  OTTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

paid.  He  urged  that  steps  be  taken  to  recover  the  $30,000.00  and 
that  the  contract  to  purchase  the  farm  be  cancelled,  as  a  scheme 
illegally  entered  into  by  the  penitentiary  officials  for  the  pur- 
pose of  defrauding  the  state.  He  called  attention  to  the  neces- 
sity for  the  passage  of  an  anti-trust  law ;  urged  the  establishment 
of  a  reform  school  for  juvenile  criminal  offenders,  and  advised 
a  delay  of  two  years  in  the  construction  of  the  new  state  capitol. 

But  in  spite  of  the  governor's  advice,  the  General  Assembly 
took  no  action  one  way  or  another  on  the  proposed  purchase  of 
the  Cummins  farm ;  nor  did  the  Assembly  pass  any  anti-trust  law. 
On.  the  other  hand,  in  spite  of  his  advice  to  the  contrary,  the 
General  Assembly  passed  an  Act  to  complete  the  new  capitol,  by 
creating  a  new  board  of  commissioners,  composed  of  ''five  suc- 
cessful business  men,  no  two  of  whom  shall  be  from  the  same 
congressional  district,"  to  be  elected  by  the  two  houses  of  the 
General  Assembly  in  joint  session. 

Other  Acts  of  the  session  were :  An  Act  declaring  the  first 
Monday  in  September  a  public  holiday,  known  as  Labor  Day ; 
an  Act  ceding  to  the  United  States  jurisdiction  over  that  part 
of  the  Hot  Springs  reservation  known  as  Hot  Springs  Moun- 
tain, describing  the  boundary  lines,  etc. ;  appropriating  v$5,000.00 
for  a  Confederate  monument;  requiring  street  railway  com- 
panies to  provide  separate  seating  acconrnodations  for  white  and 
colored  passengers ;  authorizing  school  districts  to  borrow  money 
for  the  erection  of  buildings ;  appropriating  $140,000.00  for  addi- 
tional buildings  at  the  insane  asylum ;  prohibiting  child  labor  in 
factories,  except  under  certain  restrictions ;  appropriating  $50,- 
000.00  for  an  Arkansas  exhibit  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Expo- 
sition to  be  held  in  St.  Louis  in  1904;  ceding  to  the  United  States 
jurisdiction  over  the  Federal  jail,  hospital  and  cemetery  at  Fort 
Smith,  and  authorizing  the  Supreme  Court  to  grant  licenses  to 
practice  to  graduates  of  the  law  department  of  the  University 
of  Arkansas  without  an  examination. 

On  January  20,  1903,  the  two  houses  met  in  joint  session  for 
the  purpose  of  electing  a  United  States  Senator  for  the  term 
beginning  March  4,  1903.  James  P.  Clarke,  James  K.  Jones  and 
H.  L.  Remmel  were  nominated  as  candidates.  On  the  first  and 
only  ballot  Clarke  received  seventy-seven  votes,  Jones  fifty,  Rem- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  155 

mel  two.     Clarke,  having  received  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  all 
those  elected  to  both  houses,  was  declared  elected. 

Thirty-Fifth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirty-fifth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  5,  1904.    The  senate  was  composed  of  one  Republican 
and  thirty-four  Democrats.     Of  those  elected  to  the  house,  one 
was  a  Populist,  five  were  Republicans  and  ninety-four  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  James  K.  Browning;  Second 
(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  J.  E.  McCall;  Third  (Marion, 
Boone  and  Newton),  Benjamin  E.  McFerrin;  Fourth  (Johnson 
and  Pope),  Alonzo  W.  Covington ;  Fifth  (Washington),  James 
W.  Thompson;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  John  A.  Hin- 
kle;  Seventh  (Cross  and  Woodruff),  Oliver  N.  Killough; 
Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  George  E.  Floyd;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot 
Spring  and  Grant),  Reuben  R.  Adams;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
Perry),  James  A.  Gray  and  Albert  W.  Rison ;  Eleventh  (Jeffer- 
son), Hardin  K.  Toney;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  William 
P.  Fletcher;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  John  P.  Lee; 
Fourteenth  (Lee  and  Phillips),  John  I.  Moore;  Fifteenth  (Ash- 
ley and  Chicot),  Thomas  E.  Mears ;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleve- 
land and  Dallas),  Walter  S.  Amis;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and 
Desha),  Calvin  T.  Gotham;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union), 
William  S.  Goodwin;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita), 
Thomas  W.  Hardy;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada), 
Thomas  C.  Jobe ;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller), 
Albert  S.  Kilgore ;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and 
Howard),  Walter  H.  Collins;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard  and 
Baxter),  Granville  S.  Record;  Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Mad- 
ison), Festus  O.  Butt;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin), 
Allison  T.  Gross;  Twenty-sixth  (Searcy,  Cleburne,  Van  Buren 
and  Conway),  Sam  W.  Simpson;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and 
Faulkner),  J.  M.  C.  Vaughter;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  John 
H.  Holland;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi), 
William  F.  Harrison;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and-  Pike),  Joseph  C. 
Pinnix ;  Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Thomas  W. 
Milan;  Thirty-second  (Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  Frank 
Smith;  Thirty-third  (Scott  and  Polk,  George  Legate;  Thirty- 
fourth  (Benton),  John  P.  Logan. 


156  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  William  C. 
Bowen;  Ashley,  T.  M.  Hooker;  Baxter,  Z.  M.  Horton;  Benton, 
William  A.  Anderson,  William  M.  Keith;  Boone,  J.  Sam  Row- 
land; Bradley,  John  R.  Wilson;  Calhoun,  William  A.  Craven; 
Carroll,  Claude  A.  Fuller;  Chicot,  Harry  E.  Cook;  Clark,  Rufus 
G.  McDaniel,  Edgar  R.  Arnold ;  Clay,  Robt.  G.  Dudley ;  Cleburne. 
C.  C.  Tarver ;  Cleveland,  Euphrates  Garrett ;  Columbia,  Joseph 
F.  Magale,  John  W.  Fields ;  Conway,  Gustave  F.  Clerget,  William 
E.  Burns;  Craighead,  William  W.  Cate;  Crawford,  John  T. 
Winn,  General  U.  G.  Bolton ;  Crittenden,  S.  O.  Boone ;  Cross, 
J.  T.  Patterson ;  Dallas,  James  S.  Peterson ;  Desha,  X.  O.  Pin- 
dall ;  Drew,  D.  E.  Barker ;  Faulkner,  Frank  Witt ;  Franklin, 
William  Fletcher,  Elmore  E.  Morrell;  Fulton,  Joseph  G. 
Springer;  Garland,  James  M.  Anderson,  Reid  Gantt ;  Grand, 
Robert  W.  Glover;  Grene,  James  W.  Seay;  Hempstead,  R.  E. 
Simpson,  James  H.  McCollum;  Hot  Spring,  John  C.  Ross;  How- 
ard, James  M.  Jackson ;  Independence,  Dene  H.  Coleman, 
Thomas  J.  Raney;  Izard,  Thomas  J.  Ashley;  Jackson,  John  H. 
Keel ;  Jefferson,  Sterling  A.  Miller,  Alexander  H.  Rowell,  Sid- 
ney J.  Hunt ;  Johnson,  August  M.  \Vard ;  Lafayette,  Allen  H. 
Hamiter ;  Lawrence,  Orto  Finley ;  Lee,  John  P.  Farrar,  James 
M.  Hall;  Lincoln,  H.  D.  Avery;  Little  River,  A.  D.  DuLaney; 
Logan,  James  A.  Jarrard,  John  H.  White ;  Lonoke,  Selwyn 
Smith,  Neill  S.  Moore;  Madison,  A.  F.  Duncan;  Marion,  Joseph 
W.  Black;  Miller,  L.  B.  Holmes;  Mississippi,  James  T.  Las- 
ley ;  Monroe,  George  F.  Chapline ;  Montgomery,  J.  N.  Wasson ; 
Nevada,  Crawford  B.  Andrews;  Newton,  T.  J.  Shinn ;  Ouachita, 
William  N.  Greene ;  Perry,  James  T.  Wilson ;  Phillips,  Jima- 
son  M.  Jackson ;  George  W.  Yancy ;  Pike,  William  N.  Thomp- 
son;  Poinsett,  Marion  W.  Hazel;  Polk,  William  W.  Whitley ; 
Pope,  Uratus  L.  Meade,  Ivison  C.  Burgess ;  Prairie,  A.  S.  Rein- 
gardt;  Pulaski,  William  B.  Brooks,  John  E.  Martineau,  Samuel 
H.  Nowlin,  Frank  H.  Dodge ;  Randolph,  Horace  E.  Ruff ;  Saline, 
James  S.  Abercrombie;  Scott,  John  M.  Hough;  Searcy,  William 
A.  Perry;  Sebastian,  William  A.  Black,  Herbert  M.  Beck,  Jack 
Burke;  Sevier,  Benjamin  E.  Isbell ;  Sharp,  Edward  B.  Andrews; 
St.  Francis,  Frank  W.  DeRossitt ;  Stone,  William  W.  Edmond- 
son ;  Union,  Samuel  C.  Baskin ;  Van  Buren,  W.  B.  Payne ;  Wash- 
ington, George  A.  Hurst,  James  H.  Mason,  Whit  E.  Simpson ; 
White,  Hugh  C.  Jones,  John  R.  Linder ;  Woodruff,  John  D. 
Eldridge ;  Yell,  Oscar  L.  Clement,  J.  E.  Chambers. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  157 

They  met  in  regular  session,  January  9,  1905.  Alonzo  W. 
Covington  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  Allen  Winham, 
secretary.  William  W.  Cole  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  Thomas 
W.  Campbell,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  May  4,  1905. 

The  principal  Acts  of  the  session  were :  An  Act  to  provide  for 
the  observation  of  January  19th — Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee's  birthday 
—in  the  public  schools  of  the  state;  an  Act  to  extend  the  west- 
ern boundary  of  the  state,  in  accordance  with  an  Act  of  Con- 
gress, to  include  certain  territory  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Indian  Territory;  to  appropriate  $15,000.00  for  an  annex  to  the 
Confederate  Soldiers'  Home ;  to  establish  a  reform  school ;  to 
create  the  Arkansas  History  Commission;  an  Act  authorizing 
the  city  council  of  North  Little  Rock  to  change  the  name  by 
ordinance. 


158  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

JOHN  SEBASTIAN  LITTLE 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  18,  1907 — FEBRUARY  11,  1907 

John  Sebastian  Little,  twenty-first  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  in  the  little  village  of  Jenny  Lind,  Sebastian 
county,  Arkansas,  March  15,  1851,  a  son  of  Jesse  and  Mary  E. 
(Tatitm)  Little.  His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  com- 
mon schools,  after  which  he  studied  for  a  time  at  Cane  Hill 
College,  but  did  not  graduate..  He  then  taught  school  for  three 
terms,  studying  law  during  his  vacations  in  the  office  of  C.  B. 
Neal. 

In  1871  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Greenwood,  in  Sebas- 
tion  county.  The  next  year  he  located  at  Paris,  Logan  county, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  general  practice  until  elected  prose- 
cuting attorney  in  May,  1877.  He  was  re-elected  in  1878,  1880, 
and  1882.  Returning  to  Sebastian  county  he  was  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly  in  1884.  Two  years  later  he  was  elected 
judge  of  the  Twelfth  Circuit  for  a  term  of  four  years.  At  the 
expiration  of  thai:  term  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law.  In 
1894  he  was  elected  to  Congress  to  fill  the  unexpired  term  of 
Clifton  R.  Breckenridge.  He  was  re-elected  to  Congress  at 
each  succeeding  biennial  election  until  1904,  and  in  1906  he 
was  elected  governor. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  he  suffered  a  nervous  collapse 
which  rendered  him  incapable  of  attending  to  his  official  duties. 
On  January  21,  1907,  only  three  days  after  his  inauguration,  the 
house  of  representatives  adopted  the  following  resolution : 

"WHEREAS  :  It  has  come  to  the  knowledge  of  this  house  that 
Hon.  John  S.  Little,  governor  of  this  state,  was  stricken  with 
heart  failure  this  morning;  and 

"WHEREAS:  It  is  reported  that  he  is  this  afternoon  danger- 
ously ill  at  his  home  in  this  city ;  be  it 

"Resolved,  That  this  house  hears  with  deep  regret  these  facts 
and  tenders  the  chief  executive  and  his  family  the  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy of  its  members.." 

Later  during  the  session  a  bill  was  passed  to  pay  the  gov- 
ernor his  salary  during  his  illness  and  absence  from  the  state, 
and  that  "a  sufficient  sum  of  money  be,  and  is  hereby,  appro- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  159 

priated  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  state  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of 
this  act." 

On  February  11,  1907,  Governor  Little  wrote  to  John  I, 
Moore,  president  of  the  senate,  asking  him  to  assume  the  duties 
of  acting  governor.  Thus,  from  February  11  until  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  General  Assembly  on  May  14,  1907,  Moore  served 
as  acting  governor. 

just  before  the  General  Assembly  adjourned,  X.  O.  Pindall 
was  elected  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate.  Accordingly, 
on  May  15,  1907,  he  became  acting  governor  and  served  until 
January  11,  1909,  when  Jesse  M.  Martin,  of  Pope  county,  was 
elected  president  of  the  senate,  and  thereby  became  acting  gov- 
ernor until  the  inauguration  of  Governor  George  W.  Donaghey, 
three  days  later. 

Late  in  July,  1908,  Governor  Little  was  taken  to  a  sanitarium 
at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  for  treatment.  There  he  made  a  slight 
improvement  and  after  a  few  months  was  brought  back  to  his 
home.  His  recovery  was  not  complete,  however,  and  he  was 
finally  taken  to  the  Arkansas  Hospital  for  Nervous  Diseases, 
where  his  death  occurred  on  October  29,  1916, 

In  January,  1877,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  J., 
daughter  of  Pleasant  and  Elizabeth  Irwin,  of  Logan  county,  who, 
with  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  survived  him.  These  chil- 
dred  were:  Paul,  Thomas  E.,  Jesse  E.,  Mrs.  H.  B.  Patterson 
and  Mrs.  M.  W.  Wallace. 

Thirty-Sixth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirty-sixth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September   3,    1906.     The   thirty-five   senators,   except   for   one 
Republican,  were  all  Democrats.     In  the  house  there  were  four 
Republicans  and  ninety-six  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  James  K.  Browning;  Second 
(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  James  E.  McCall ;  Third 
(Marion,  Boone  and  Newton),  Sam  Rowland;  Fourth  (Johnson 
and  Pope),  Jesse  M.  Martin;  Fifth  (Washington),  James  W. 
Thompson;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  William  W. 


160  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Edmondson;  Seventh  (Cross  arid  Woodruff),  Marshall  H.  Pat- 
terson; Eighth  (Yel!  and  Logan),  George  E.  Floyd;  Ninth 
(Saline,  Hot  Spring  and  Grant),  Reuben  R.  Adams;  Tenth 
(Pulaski  and  Perry),  John  H.  Hamiter  and  Kie  Oldham ; 
Eleventh  (Jefferson),  H.  K.  Toney;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and 
Prairie),  Alexander  Yopp ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe), 
John  P.  Lee;  Fourteenth  (Lee  and  Phillips),  John  I.  Moore; 
Fifteenth  (Ashley  and  Chicot),  John  G.  B.  Sims;  Sixteenth 
(Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas),  Walter  S.  Amis;  Seventeenth 
(Drew  and  Desha),  Howard  Robb ;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and 
LTnion),  William  S.  Goodwin;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and 
Ouachita),  William  F.  McKnight ;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and 
Nevada),  Henry  B.  McKenzie ;  Twenty-first  (Columbia, 
Lafayette  and  Miller),  R.  Lee  Montgomery;  Twenty-second 
(Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard),  Otis  Wingo ;  Twenty-third 
(Fulton,  Izard  and  Baxter),  Granville  S.  Rector;  Twenty- 
fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  Nelson  J.  Carlock;  Twenty-fifth 
(Crawford  and  Franklin),  Allison  T.  Cross;  Twenty-sixth 
(Searcy,  Cleburne,  Van  Buren  and  Conway),  Frank  P.  Green- 
haw;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and  Faulkner),  Charles  E.  Bush; 
Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  John  H.  Holland;  Twenty-ninth 
(Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  William  F.  Harrison; 
Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  Edgar  R.  Arnold;  Thirty-first 
(Garland  and  Montgomery),  Thomas  W.  Milan;  Thirty-second 
(Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  Frank  W.  DeRossitt ;  Thirty-third 
(Scott  and  Polk),  George  Legate;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton), 
Richard  L.  Nance. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  H.  Cole- 
man  ;  Ashley,  W.  A.  Roby ;  Baxter,  Ed  D.  Smothers ;  Benton, 
Dick  Rice.  Dewitt  C.  Shannon;  Boone,  Walker  J.  Watkins; 
Bradley,  Charles  L.  Hoyle ;  Calhoun,  William  A.  Craven ;  Car- 
roll, J.  W.  Powner;  Chicot,  Charles  W.  Saunders ;  Clark,  R.  F. 
McDaniel,  Dick  Davis;  Clay,  John  H.  Hill;  Cleburne,  A.  G. 
Morris;  Cleveland,  Robert  F.  Foster;  Columbia,  A.  J.  Thomas, 
Henry  Stevens;  Conway,  Albert  F.  Welch,  Algernon  W.  Mc- 
Cracken ;  Craighead,  Joseph  H.  Bishop ;  Crawford,  Silas  W. 
Haley,  U.  G.  Bolton;  Crittenden,  S..A.  Martin;  Cross,  O.  N. 
Killough ;  Dallas,  James  P.  Scrimshire ;  Desha,  John  W.  Davis ; 
Drew,  D.  E.  Barker ;  Faulkner,  Thomas  J.  Buillion ;  Franklin, 
John  J.  Partain,  William  Fletcher ;  Fulton,  Gardner  Skaggs ; 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  161 

Garland,  Richard  T.  Quinn,  James  M.  Anderson;  Grant,  Rob- 
ert W.  Glover;  Greene,  James  W.  Seay;  Hempstead,  James  H. 
McCollum,  Lewis  F.  Monroe ;  Hot  Spring,  John  C.  Ross ;  How- 
ard, James  M.  Jackson ;  Independence,  Samuel  A.  Moore, 
W.  M.  Thompson;  Izard,  James  D.  Lackey;  Jackson,  James  U. 
Ard ;  Jefferson,  Alexander  H.  Rowell,  Sidney  J.  Hunt,  William 
B.  Pinney ;  Johnson,  Thomas  W.  Kendall ;  Lafayette,  Allen  H. 
Hamiter:  Lawrence,  Orto  Finley ;  Lee,  William  R.  Haynie, 
Frank  O.  Love ;  Lincoln,  C.  A.  Newton ;  Little  River,  A.  D. 
Dulaney;  Logan,  John  H.  White,  Henry  B.  Walker;  Lonoke, 
William  K.  Oldham,  James  B.  Reed ;  Madison,  John  S.  Combs ; 
Marion,  Joseph  W.  Black ;  Miller,  William  B.  Owen ;  Missis- 
sippi. J.  T.  Lasley;  Monroe,  S.  B.  Sawyer;  Montgomery,  Jerry 
Witt;  Nevada,  John  W.  Whaley;  Newton,  J.  Frank  Carlton; 
Ouachita,  Archie  Hamilton;  Perry,  James  T.  Wilson;  Phillips, 
Robert  W.  Nicholls,  Nat  G.  Turner;  Pike,  C.  A.  Kizzia;  Poin- 
sett,  Marion  W.  Hazel;  Polk,  John  H.  Hamilton;  Pope,  U.  L. 
Meade,  James  D.  Hogan ;  Prairie,  Abel  S.  Reinhardt ;  Pulaski, 
L.  B.  Leigh,  George  B.  Pngh,  Rufus  W.  Balch,  William  M. 
Moore;  Randolph,  Horace  E.  Ruff;  Saline,  James  S.  Aber- 
crombie;  Scott,  William  F.  Faulkner;  Searcy,  Shem  E.  Halla- 
baugh ;  Sebastian,  William  A.  Black,  Herbert  M.  Beck,  Willie 
B.  \V.  Lleartsill ;  Sevier,  Thomas  J.  Jones;  Sharp,  E.  D.  An- 
drews ;  St.  Francis,  J.  W.  Moore ;  Stone,  John  W.  Webb  ; 
Union,  William  M.  Van  Hook;  Van  Buren,  Jesse  F.  Koone; 
Washington,  Whit  E.  Simpson,  George  W.  Morrow,  James  B.. 
Mays;  \Vhite,  William  A.  Hodges,  Willis  J.  Walls;  Woodruff, 
Elmo  Carl  Lee;  Yell,  A.  C.  Martin,  Thomas  B.  Hancok. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  14,  1907.  John  I. 
Moore  was  elected  president  of  the  senate :  George  Trevathan, 
secretary.  Allen  H.  Hamiter  was  speaker  of  the  house;  Edward 
L.  Lucas,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  May  14,  1907. 

Four  hundred  and  sixty  Acts  were  passed  by  this  General 
Assembly,  many  of  them  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
railroad  stations  and  building  depots  at  various  places.  An 
employers'  liability  Act  was  passed;  the  sum  of  $3,000.00  was 
appropriated  to  supply  artificial  limbs  for  ex-Confederate  sol- 
diers ;  the  powers  of  the  railroad  commission  were  enlarged  ; 
the  time  of  holding  the  state  election  was  changed  to  the  sec- 
ond Monday  in  September,  beginning  in  1908;  January  19th, 


162  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

the  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee,  was 
declared  a  legal  holiday ;  the  salary  of  the  governor  was  in- 
creased to  $3,000.00  per  annum.  An  Act  was  passed  to  prevent 
betting  on  horse  races,  and  one  to  prohibit  dealing  in  futures 
on  agricultural  products. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  163 

GEORGE  W.  DONAGHEY 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  14,  1909 — JANUARY  16,  1913 

George  W.  Donaghey,  twenty-second  governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  was  born  at  Oakland,  Louisiana,  July  1,  1856. 
While  he  was  still  in  his  infancy  his  parents  removed  to  Union 
county,  Arkansas,  and  in  1874  to  Faulkner  county,  where  they 
passed  the  remainder  of  their  lives. 

George  W.  left  home  when  he  was  about  sixteen  years  of 
age  and  went  on  work  on  a  farm  in  Texas  for  $12.50  a  month 
and  his  board.  He  also  worked  as  a  section  hand  on  a  rail- 
road and  ''punched  cattle"  as  a  cowboy.  While  thus  engaged 
he  managed  to  obtain  a  practical  education  by  attending  the 
common  schools  as  opportunity  offered,  and  later  he  was  a 
student  for  some  time  at  the  University  of  Arkansas,  but  took 
no  degree. 

In  1874,  when  his  parents  removed  to  Faulkner  county,  he 
went  to  Conway,  where  he  began  learning  the  trade  of  carpen- 
ter. While  serving  his  apprenticeship  he  studied  architecture 
and  structural  engineering,  becoming  proficient  in  both.  In 
course  of  time  he  became  a  contractor  and  erected  a  number 
of  buildings  in  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Oklahoma  and  Texas, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  court  house  at  Fayetteville 
and  six  of  the  buildings  of  the  University  of  Arkansas.  His 
activities  as  a  contractor  led  him  into  general  construction  work. 
He  was  one  of  the  principal  contractors  in  the  building  of  the 
Choctaw,  Oklahoma  &  Gulf  Railroad  (now  a  part  of  the  Rock 
Island  System)  ;  the  Midland  Valley  Railroad  from  Oklahoma 
into  Kansas,  and  the  Hot  Springs  branch  of  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  &  Pacific,  between  Benton  and  Hot  Springs. 

In  his  early  manhood  Donaghey  became  actively  identified 
with  the  Democratic  party  and  held  several  local  offices.  He 
was  the  nominee  of  his  party  for  governor  in  1908  and  was 
elected  by  more  than  fifty  thousand  majority.  At  that  time 
the  new  state  ca-pitol  was  under  construction.  His  experience 
as  a  builder  enabled  him  to  see  where  important  changes  were 
necessary  in  order  to  improve  the  appearance  and  general 
utility  of  the  edifice.  In  seeking  the  office  he  announced  it  as 
the  chief  aim  of  his  administration,  if  elected,  to  finish  the 
capitol.  And  much  credit  is  due  him  for  effecting  that  purpose 


164  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

in  an   economical   and  highly   creditable   manner.      In    1910  he 
was  re-elected  governor  and  served  a  second  term  of  two  years. 

Largely  through  his  influence,  Hendrix  College,  the  Central 
Baptist  College  and  the  State  Normal  School  were  located  at 
Con  way,  making  that  town  one  of  the  leading  educational  cen- 
ters of  Arkansas.  Since  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  gov- 
ernod  in  January,  1913,  he  has  maintained  his  interest  in  Hen- 
drix College  and  has  used  his  'influence  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  that  institution.  Although  he  has  done  some  contracting 
since  1913,  his  principal  occupation  has  been  looking  after  his 
banking  connections.  He  took  an  active  part  in  securing  the 
location  of  Camp  Pike  near  Little  Rock  during  the  World 
War  and  in  the  movement  to  secure  the  new  bridges  over  the 
Arkansas  river  at  Little  Rock.  For  some  time  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  state  board  of  charities  and  corrections,  and  in  1921 
Governor  McRae  appointed  him  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
control. 

On  September  20,  1883,  in  Lonoke  county,  Governor  Don- 
aghey  was  married  to  Miss  Louvinia  Wallace,  a  native  of  South 
Carolina,  whose  parents,  James  and  Eunice  Wallace,  settled  in 
Lonoke  county  when"  she  was  a  child. 

Thirty-Seventh  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  thirty-seventh  General  Assembly  were 
elected  September  14,  1908.  The  senators  were  all  Democrats. 
There  were  two  Republicans  elected  to  the  house. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  Arthur  Turner;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence  and  Sharp),  C.  H.  Henderson;  Third  (Marion, 
Boone  and  Newton),  Sam  Rowland;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Pope),  Jesse  M.  Martin;  Fifth  (Washington),  J.  S.  Dill;  Sixth 
(Independence  and  Stone),  William  W.  Edmondson;  Seventh 
(Cross  and  Woodruff),  Marshall  H.  Patterson;  Eighth  (Yell 
and  Logan),  John  White;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot  Spring  and 
Grant),  R.  W.  Glover;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  John  H. 
Hamiter  and  Kie  Oldham ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  H.  K.  Toney ; 
Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  Alexander  Yopp;  Thirteenth 
(Arkansas  and  Monroe),  R.  D.  Rascoe ;  Fourteenth  (Lee  and 
Phillips),  James  Robertson;  Fifteenth  (Ashley  and  Chicot), 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  165 

J.  G.  B.  Simms;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleveland  and  Dallas), 
Arthur  J.  Johnson;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Desha),  X.  O. 
Pindall;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  John  H.  Green; 
Nineteenth  (Calhoun-and  Ouachita),  William  F.  McKnight ; 
Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  Henry  B.  McKenzie ; 
Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  R.  Lee  Mont- 
gomery; Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard), 
Otis  Wingo;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard  and  Baxter),  J.  A. 
Watson;  Twenty- fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  Nelson  J.  Car- 
lock;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  WilHam 
Fletcher;  Twenty-sixth  (Searcy,  Cleburne,  Van  Buren  and 
Conway),  Frank  B.  Greenhaw;  Twenty-seventh  (White  and 
Faulkner),  Charles  E.  Bush;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  John 
H.  Holland;  Twenty-ninth  ( Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi), 
John  H.  Keel;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  Edgard  R.  Arnold; 
Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  O.  H.  Sumpter; 
Thirty-second  (Critt'enden  and  St.  Francis),  Frank  W.  DeRos- 
sitt;  Thirty-third  (Scott  and  Polk),  John  P.  Logan;  Thirty- 
fourth  (Benton),  Robert  L.  Nance. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  Louis 
Buerkle ;  Ashley,  Monroe  Smith ;  Baxter,  E.  D.  Smothers ;  Ben- 
ton,  F.  M.  Seamster,  W.  T.  Gann;  Boone,  B.  M.  Estes;  Brad- 
ley, W.  D.  Bradham;  Calhoun,  W.  W.  Yeager;  Carroll,  R.  S. 
Granger;  Chicot,  H.  F.  Holt;  Clark,  M.  Roundtree;  M.  T. 
Shackelford;  Clay,  J.  T.  Campbell;  Cleburne,  A.  G.  Morris; 
Cleveland,  George  F.  Brown ;  Columbia,  Bonnie  Davis,  R.  S. 
Warnock ;  Conway,  A.  W.  McCracken,  G.  F.  Clerget ;  Craig- 
head,  N.  J.  Thompson;  Crawford,  H.  L.  Snider,  Leonard  Dyer; 
Crittenden,  A.  B.  Shafer;  Cross,  I.  H.  Faulkner;  Dallas,  E.  D. 
Nix ;  Desha,  J.  W.  Davis ;  Drew,  R.  L.  Collins ;  Faulkner,  J.  A. 
Batson ;  Franklin,  L.  O.  Fisher,  E.  W.  Hogan ;  Fulton,  J.  D. 
Oliphant;  Garland,  W.  G.  Bouie,  George  P.  Whittington;  Grant, 
T.  E.  Toler ;  Greene,  J.  A.  Thompson ;  Hempstead,  L.  F.  Mon- 
roe, J.  T.  M.  Holt;  Hot  Spring,  D.  D.  Glover;  Howard,  Thomas 
A.  Floyd;  Independence,  \V.  M.  Thompson,  J.  L.  Brown;  Izard, 
R.  D.  Harris ;  Jackson,  J.  U.  Ard ;  Jefferson,  S.  A.  Miller,  T.  C. 
White,  D.  E.  Tucker;  Johnson,  T.  W.  Kendall;  Lafayette,  T,  B. 
Parks ;  Lawrence,  J.  J.  Bellamy  Lee,  W.  L.  Scruggs,  S.  B.  Rus- 
sell ;  Lincoln,  N.  B.  Kersh ;  Little  River,  A.  D.  DuLaney ; 
Logan,  R.  L.  Brawner,  D.  E.  Johnson;  Lonoke,  W.  J.  Bogard, 


166  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

C.  P.  Newton;  Madison,  J.  S.  Combs;  Marion,  W.  H.  Hud- 
son; Miller,  W.  B.  Owens;  Mississippi,  A.  G.  Little;  Monroe, 
S.  D.  Sawyer;  Montgomery,  Jerry  Witt;  Nevada,  J.  W.  Wha- 
ley;  Newton,  J.  F.  Carlton ;  Ouachita,  Archie  Hamilton;  Perry, 
Robert  A.  Neale;  Phillips,  J.  M.  Jackson,  E.  H.  Ross;  Pike, 
W.  N.  Beaton;  Poinsett,  J.  E.  Clanton;  Polk,  John  H.  Ham- 
ilton; Pope,  H.  F.  Spillers,  M.  L.  Ellis;  Prairie,  F.  E.  Brown; 
Pulaski,  Oscar  Winn,  L.  B.  Leigh,  M.  E.  Dunaway,  G.  F. 
Jones;  Randolph,  A.  M.  Doss;  Saline,  A.  B.  Shockley;  Scott, 
S.  W.  Simpson;  Searcy,  F.  G. -Hollabaugh ;  Sebastian,  P.  E. 
Rowe,  W.  B.  W.  Heartsill,  John  W.  Tyler;  Sevier,  T.  J. 
Jones;  Sharp,  J.  M.  Street;  St.  Francis,  Samuel  Emory  Sweet; 
Stone,  W.  W.  Cartwright ;  Union,  W.  E.  Lacy;  Van  Buren, 
G.  W.  Hatched;  Washington,  G.  A.  Hurst,  W.  E.  Williams. 
Jesse  Guilliams ;  White,  W.  A.  Hodges,  J.  W.  Simmons ; 
Woodruff,  E.  M.  CarlLee ;  Yell,  A.  C.  Martin,  T.  B.  Hancock. 
They  met  in  regular  session  January  11,  1909.  Jesse  M. 
Martin  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  George  Trevathan, 
secretary.  F.  E.  Brown  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  B.  Hig- 
gins,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  May  2,  1909. 

In  his  inaugural  address.  Governor  Donaghey  gave  utterance 
to  a  sentiment  which  characterized  the  whole  course  of  his 
administration.  Said  he:  "In  my  past  life  of  work,  my  prac- 
tice has  been  to  do  the  things  I  had  to  do  with  whatever  I 
had  to  do  them  with.  By  personal  experience  I  have  often 
found  tlie  rejected  stone  the  best  material.  Of  my  own 
knowledge,  I  know  that  he  who  continually  quarrels  with  his 
tools  is  a  poor  workman.  I  have  seen  men  with  sense  and 
energy  literally  move  mountains.  All  these  things  came  to  me 
in  a  practical  way ;  and  having  seen  what  efficiency  can  accom- 
plish in  industrial  and  business  affairs,  I  am  now  prepared  to 
believe  that  even  so  important  a  work  as  statecraft  is  only  an 
intensely  practical  matter."  In  his  efforts  to  revise  the  plans, 
correct  defects  of  construction  and  finish  the  new  state  capitol, 
his  conduct  squared  with  the  principles  which  he  thus  pro- 
claimed. 

,  Of  the  general  Acts  passed  at  this  session  the  most  im- 
portant were :  To  create  the  Arkansas  Tax  Commission  and 
define  its  powers  and  duties ;  to  grant  greater  powers  to  cities 
of  the  first  class  in  the  matter  of  public  improvements ;  to 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  167 

suppress  night-riding,  destruction  of  property  or  intimidation  of 
persons  by  unlawful  conspiracies;  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  railroad  commissioners ;  to  establish  and  maintain  public 
schools  of  agriculture ;  to  regulate  primary  elections  and  pro- 
vide penalties  for  violation  of  the  primary  law ;  to  change  the 
name  of  the  Lunatic  Asylum  to  the  State  Hospital  for  Nervous 
Diseases ;  to  establish  a  tuberculosis  sanitarium,  appropriating 
$50,000.00  for  buildings  and  $30,000.00  for  maintenance;  to 
create  the  Vicksburg  Military  Park  Commission  to  locate  and 
mark  the  location  of  Arkansas  commands  at  the  siege  of  Vicks- 
burg; to  define  the  duties  of  the  Arkansas  History  Commission 
and  provide  for  quarters  in  the  state  capitol. 

An  appropriation  of  $6,250.00  was  made  to  pay  the  notes 
and  interest  due  W.  B.  Worthen  &  Company  for  money 
.advanced  to  pay  the  salary  of  Acting  Governor  Pindall,  and 
two  constitutional  amendments  were  submitted  to  the  people, 
to  be  voted  on  at  the  state  election  in  1910.  The  first  of  these 
amendments  provided  for  the  initiative  and  referendum,  and  the 
second  authorized  the  exemption  of  cotton  factories  from  tax- 
ation for  a  period  of  seven  years. 

Thirty-Eighth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  thirty-eighth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  12,  1910.  The  senators  were  all  Democrats.  There 
were  five  Republicans  in  the  house. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead),  Thomas  A.  Turner;  Second  (Randolph, 
Lawrence  and  Sharp),  C.  H.  Henderson;  Third  (Marion,  Boone 
and  Newton),  George  L.  Christian;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Polk),  A.  Webb  Covington ;  Fifth  (Washington),  Joseph  S. 
Dill;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  T.  J.  Raney ;  Seventh 
(Cross  and  Woodruff),  Elmo  Carl  Lee;  Eighth  (Yell  and 
Logan),  John  H.  White;  Ninth  (Saline,  Hot  Spring  and 
Grant),  Robert  W.  Glover;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  Charles 
Jacobson  and  Lee  Miles;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  H.  K.  Toney ; 
Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  William  K.  Oldham ;  Thir- 
teenth (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  Roy  D.  Rasco ;  Fourteenth 
(Lee  and  Phillips),  James  T. '  Robertson ;  Fifteenth  (Ashley 
and  Chicot),  James  R.  Wood;  Sixteenth  (Lincoln,  Cleveland 


168  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

and  Dallas),  A.  J.  Johnson;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Desha), 
Joseph  F.  Hughes;  Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  John  H. 
Green;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  Samuel  L  .Owens; 
Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  James  T.  M.  Holt; 
Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  E.  F.  Friedell ; 
Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard),  William  C. 
Rodgers;  Twenty-third  (Fulton,  Izard  and  Baxter),  James  A. 
Watson;  Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  William  R. 
Phillips;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  William 
Fletcher;  Twenty-sixth  (Conway,  Cleburne,  Van  Buren  and 
Searcy),  G.  F.  Clerget;  Twenty-seventh  (Faulkner  and  White), 
A.  C.  Martin;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  John  H.  Holland; 
Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  John  H. 
Keel;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  William  N.  Deaton ;  Thirty- 
first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Hamp  Williams;  Thirty- 
second  (Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  J.  M.  McBee ;  Thirty-third 
(Scott  and  Polk),  John  P.  Logan;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton), 
P.  A.  Rodgers. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  Louis 
Buerkle;  Ashley,  A.  D.  Conel  Baxter,  T.  H.  Hensley ;  Benton, 
William  Marion  Keith  and  William  Allen  Anderson ;  Boone, 
M.  O.  Penix;  Bradley,  D.  A.  Bradham;  Calhoun,  A.  C.  Kel- 
logg; Carroll,  A.  J.  Russell;  Chicot,  Luther  A.  Buckner ;  Clark, 
Joseph  Hardage  and  Stephen  P.  Meador;  Clay,  John  T.  Camp- 
bell; Cleburne,  Charles  W.  Martin;  Cleveland,  George  F. 
Brown;  Columbia,  R.  S.  Warnock  and  Bonnie  Davis;  Conway, 
C.  L.  Farish  and  John  G.  Griswood ;  Craighead,  William  D. 
Self;  Crawford,  George  W.  Wagner,  W.  H.  Smith;  Crittenden, 
Wilsie  W.  Swepston;  Cross,  I.  H.  Faulkner;  Dallas,  James  P. 
Scrimshire ;  Desha,  L  Norman  Moore;  Drew,  D.  E.  Barker; 
Faulkner,  William  W.  Martin ;  Franklin,  John  J.  Partain,  John 
H.  Mansfield ;  Fulton,  Dunk  Brown ;  Garland,  Leo  P.  McLaugh- 
lin,  George  P.  Whittington ;  Grant,  Thomas  E.  Toler ;  Greene, 
Joe  A.  Thompson ;  Hempstead,  William  Irvin  Stokes,  Noble 
R.  Lewis ;  Hot  Spring,  David  A.  Glover ;  Howard,  Thomas  A. 
Floyd;  Independence,  George  J.  Lindsey,  William  D.  Baker; 
Izard,  James  D.  Lackey;  Jackson,  George  L.  Grant;  Jefferson, 
Edwin  J.  Kerwin,  William  B.  Pinney,  Chester  D.  McCallister; 
Johnson,  Heartsill  H.  Ragon ;  Lafayette,  Wesley  M.  Davis; 
Lawrence,  James  J.  Bellamy;  Lee,  Garland  S.  Brickey,  Isaac  N. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  169 

Vail ;  Lincoln,  Napoleon  B.  Karsh ;  Little  River,  William  B. 
Boggs ;  Logan,  John  M.  Williams,  William  Nunn ;  Lonoke, 
Clarence  P.  Newton,  George  W.  Clarke;  Madison,  George  W. 
R.  Keck ;  Marion,  Elmer  Owens ;  Miller,  John  T.  Sims ;  Missis- 
sippi, A.  G.  Little;  Monroe,  R.  F.  Milwee;  Montgomery,  C.  T. 
Cockburn;  Nevada,  William  N.  Munn;  Newton,  Ben  E.  Mc- 
Ferrin;  Ouachita,  Charles  J.  Parker;  Perry,  Robert  A.  Neale ; 
Phillips,  Jamison  M  Jackson,  Peter  A.  Deisch ;  Pike,  George 
W.  Clingham ;  Poinsett,  Clyde  Going ;  Polk,  William  Minon  Pip- 
kin ;  Pope,  R.  E.  L.  DuVall,  Francis  M.  Hudson,  Jr. ;  Prairie, 
Charles  B.  Thweatt;  Pulaski,  George  F.  Jones,  Abner  McGehee, 
Jr.,  William  R.  Barrow  and  William  C.  Faucette ;  Randolph, 
W.  A.  Jackson ;  Saline,  James  G.  Rice ;  Scott,  Thomas  T.  Payne ; 
Searcy,  Albert  Garrison ;  Sebastian,  William  A.  Black,  Claude 
C.  Calvert  and  Thomas  P.  Yadon;  Sevier,  Wiley  M.  Bourns; 
Sharp,  Walter  H.  Holt;  St.  Francis,  Henry  B.  Lewis;  Stone, 
Albert  S.  Ward;  Union,  William  E.  Lacy;  Van  Buren,  George 
W.  Hatchett;  Washington,  George  A.  Hurst,  John  Edward 
Jones,  Ben  C.  Ballard ;  White,  John  T.  Walker,  Robert  C. 
Clark;  Woodruff,  Ed  Roddy;  Yell,  Alex  A  .Scott,  W.  H. 
McCall. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  9,  1911.  H.  K.  Toney 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  George  H.  Trevathan,  sec- 
retary. R.  F.  Milwee  was  speaker  of  the  house;  J.  B.  Hig- 
gins,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  May  13,  1911. 

The  most  important  of  the  general  Acts  passed  at  this  ses- 
sion were:  "To  create  a  state  department  of  health,  consist- 
ing of  a  commissioner  and  an  advisory  board  of  seven  mem- 
bers— one  from  each  congressional  district;  to  amend  the  pri- 
mary election  law  relative  to  the  selection  of  judges  and  clerks, 
and  to  make  provisions  for  contesting  any  election;  to  create 
the  capitol  art  commission,  composed  of  the  governor  and  four 
citizens  appointed  by  him,  to  have  charge  of  the  decoration  of 
the  building  and  grounds;  to  tax  the  franchises  of  corporations 
doing  business  in  Arkansas ;  to  appropriate  $20,000.00  for  a 
new  laundry  at  the  Deaf  Mute  Institute;  to  establish  juvenile 
courts  in  the  several  counties  of  the  state;  to  declare  general 
election  days,  June  3rd  (Jefferson  Davis's  birthday),  and  Octo- 
ber 1.2th  (Columbus  Day),  legal  holidays;  to  provide  for  the 
registration  of  motor  vehicles,  the  owner  to  pay  a  registration 


170  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

fee  of  $5.00;  to  regulate  the  assessment  of  railroads,  express, 
sleeping  car,  telegraph  and  telephone  companies ;  to  create  a 
state  high  school  board,  to  provide  aid  for  high  schools ;  to 
appropriate  $2,000.00  for  the  manufacture  and  distribution  of 
hog  cholera  serum. 

The  General  Asembly  having  adjourned  without  revising  the 
revenue  laws,  as  recommended  by  the  governor,  and  having 
failed  also  to  make  the  necessary  appropriations  for  the  various 
departments  of  state  government  and  the  charitable  institutions, 
in  accordance  with  the  governor's  views,  Governor  Donaghey 
called  a  special  session,  which  began  May  22,  1911,  and  lasted 
until  June  10.  1911.  A  ne\v  revenue  law,  the  so-called  Turner- 
Jacobson  bill,  of  128  sections,  was  passed;  $30,000.00  was  appro- 
priated to  pay  the  expense  of  transferring  the  Supreme  Court 
and  the  state  treasurer's  office  to  the  new  State  Capitol ;  pro- 
vision was  made  for  carrying  into  effect  the  initiative  and  ref- 
erendum amendment  to  the  constitution,  but  the  Assembly  failed 
to  make  any  changes  in  the  general  appropriations  made  at  the 
regular  session. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  171 

JOSEPH  TAYLOR  ROBINSON 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  16,  1913 — MARCH  8,  1913 

Joseph  Taylor  Robinson,  twenty-third  governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  was  born  on  a  farm  in  Lonoke  county,  August 
26,  1872.  His  father,  Dr.  James  Robinson,  was  born  and  edu- 
cated in  the  State  of  New  York;  married  Miss  Matilda  J. 
Swain,  a  native  of  Maury  county,  Tennessee.  In  1844  Dr. 
Robinson  became  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  in  what  is  now 
Lonoke  county,  Arkansas.  He  was  known  far  and  wide  as  a 
skillful  physician  and,  in  addition  to  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, he  owned  and  managed  a  plantation  about  six  miles 
southwest  of  the  town  of  Lonoke.  His  death  ocurred  in  1893 
and  his  widow  died  in  1899. 

Joseph  T.  Robinson  was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
and  at  the  University  of  Arkansas.  He  then  entered  the  law- 
department  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  where  he  completed 
his  legal  studies,  and  in  September,  1895,  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Lonoke.  In  September,  1894,  a  year  before  his  admit- 
tance to  the  practice,  of  law,  he  was  elected  as  one  of  the  rep- 
resentatives from  Lonoke  county  to  the  General  Assembly.  He 
was  one  of  the  Democratic  presidential  electors  in  1900;  was 
selected  as  the  messenger  to  carry  the  electoral  vote  of  Arkan- 
sas to  Washington.  Two  years  later  he  was  elected  to  repre- 
sent the  Sixth  District  in  Congress.  He  was  re-elected  at  each 
succeeding  biennial  until  1910. 

In  1912  he  was  nominated  by  his  party  for  governor  and 
was  elected.  On  January  14,  1913,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Con- 
gress, was  inaugurated  governor  on  the  16th,  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  on  the  28th,  but  continued  to  hold  the  governor's 
office  until  March  8,  1913,  when  he  sent  to  W.  .K.  Oldham, 
president  of  the  senate,  his  resignation  "to  take  effect  at  once." 
He  left  immediately  for  Washington,  D.  C.,  and  on  March  10, 
1913,  took  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate.  At  the  state 
election  in  November,  1918,  he  was  elected  for  a  second  term, 
beginning  on  March  4,  1919,  and  expiring  on  March  4,  1925. 

When  Governor  Robinson  resigned,  W.  K.  Oldham,  by  vir- 
tue of  his  office  as  president  of  the  senate,  became  acting  gov- 
ernor. On  March  10,  1913,  three  days  before  the  adjourn- 


172  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

meat  of  the  session,  J.  M.  Futrell  was  elected  president  pro 
tempore,  in  order  that  there  should  not  be  a  vacancy  in  the 
office  of  governor.  Oldham  and  his  friends  contended  that  he 
was  entitled  to  continue  as  acting  governor,  because  Governor 
Robinson  had  resigned  before  the  end  of  the  legislative  session 
in  order  that  Oldham  might  continue  in  the  office.  Supported 
by  the  opinion  of  the  attorney-general,  Oldham  remained  in 
possession  of  the  executive  offices  in  the  capitol.  But  when  the 
General  Assembly  adjourned  on  March  13,  1913,  Futrell  estab- 
lished himself  as  governor  in  another  room  in  the  building,  and 
for  a  time  Arkansas  had  two  chief  executives.  The  question 
was  thereupon  referred  to  the  Supreme  Court,  both  agreeing 
to  abide  by  the  decision  and  to  perform  no  official  acts  of 
importance  until  the  decision  was  rendered.  Accordingly,  on 
March  27,  1913,  the  Supreme  Court  handed  down  an  opinion 
that  Futrell,  as  president  pro  tempore  of  the  senate,  was  the 
lawful  acting  governor,  and  Mr.  Oldham  surrendered  to  him 
the  executive  quarters. 

Senator  Robinson  is  a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  is 
also  a  member  of  other  fraternal  and  social  orders.  On  Decem- 
ber 15,  1896,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ewilda  Ger- 
trude Miller,  who  father,  Jesse  Miller,  was  formerly  one  of  the 
leading  merchants  of  Lonoke. 

Thirty-Ninth  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  thirty-ninth  General  Assembly  were  elected 
September  9,  1912.     The  senate  was  composed  of  one  Proges- 
sive  Republican  and  Thirty-four  Democrats.     .There  were  four 
Republicans  in  the  house  and  ninety-six  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  James  Marion  Futrell;  Second 
(Randloph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  G.  B.  Ferguson;  Third 
(Marion,  Boone  and  Newton),  George  L.  Christian;  Fourth 
(Johnson  and  Pope),  Webb  Covington ;  Fifth  (Washington), 
B.  H.  Greathouse ;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone),  Thomas 
J.  Raney ;  Seventh  (Cross  and  W'oodruff),  E.  M.  Carl  Lee; 
Eighth  (Yell  and  Logan),  W.  H.  McCall;  Ninth  (Grant,  Saline 
and  Hot  Spring),  Thomas  E.  Toler;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and 
Perry),  Lee  Miles,  Charles  Jacobson ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson), 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  173 

Thomas  C.  White;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  William  K. 
Oldham ;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  Harry  C.  Harris; 
Fourteenth  (Phillips  and  Lee),  John  I.  Moore;  Fifteenth  (Ash- 
ley and  Chicot),  James  R.  Woods;  Sixteenth  (Dallas,  Cleve- 
land and  Lincoln),  Edgar  V.  Overman;  Seventeenth  (Drew 
and  Ashley),  J.  F.  Hughes;  Eighteenth  (Union  and  Bradley), 
J.  M.  Smith;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita  and  Calhoun),  Samuel  L. 
Owens;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  James  T.  M. 
Holt:  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  E.  F. 
Friedell ;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard), 
W.  C.  Rodgers;  Twenty-third  (Izard,  Fulton  and  Baxter),  John 
C.  Ashley;  Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  W.  R.  Phil- 
lips; Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  George  Washing- 
ton Wagner;  Twenty-sixth  (Conway,  Cleburne,  Searcy  and  Van 
Buren),  Gustave  F.  Clerget ;  Twenty-seventh  (Faulkner  and 
White),  A.  C.  Martin;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  C.  C.  Cal- 
vert ;  Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  L. 
Clyde  Going;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  W.  N.  Deaton; 
Thirty-first  Garland  and  Montgomery),  J.  N.  Wasson;  Thirty- 
second  (Crittenden  and  St.-  Francis),  J.  M.  McBee;  Thirty- 
third  (Scott  and  Polk),  Elmer  J.  Lundy;  Thirty-fourth  (Ben- 
ton),  P.  A.  Rodgers 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas,  T.  K.  Bennett; 
Ashley,  A.  D.  Cone ;  Baxter,  Jackson  V.  Thrasher ;  Benton,  J. 
M.  Beard,  William  T.  Maxwell;  Boone,  J.  L.  Shouse;  Bradley, 
A.  V.  Smith ;  Calhoun,  William  A.  Craven ;  Carroll,  John  C. 
Stafford ;  Chicot,  L.  A.  Buckner ;  Clark,  Joe  Hardage,  Marion 
T.  Shackelford;  Clay,  John  W.  Brawner;  Cleburne,  John  W. 
Davis ;  Cleveland,  Sam  P.  O'Neill ;  Columbia,  Bonnie  Davis, 
Henry  Stevens ;  Conway,  John  W.  Rainbolt,  Carroll  Armstrong  ; 
Craighead," William  D.  Self;  Crawford,  J.  J.  Dippboye,  W.  H. 
Smith ;  Crittenden,  William  L.  Fish ;  Cross,  Joseph  W. 
Williams;  Dallas,  Joseph  Daniel  Knight;  Desha,  John  H.  Wal- 
lace; Drew,  Carl  F.  Hudspeth ;  Faulkner,  George  M.  Connell ;' 
Franklin,  James  T.  Tolleson,  George  A.  Henry ;  Fulton,  William 
W.  Gibson ;  Garland,  L.  Wr.  Sawyer,  Harry  M.  Westcott ;  Grant, 
R.  R.  Posey ;  Greene,  Marion  F.  Dickinson ;  Hempstead,  Thomas 
C.  Jobe,  James  W.  Ellis;  Hot  Spring,  Joel  C.  Belote ;  Howard," 
J.  Guthrie  Sain;  Independence,  A.  G.  Gray,  William  J.  Cald- 
well;  Izard,  William  W.  Copeland;  Jackson,  George  L.  Grant; 


174  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

Jefferson,  Sterling  A.  Miller,  Thomas  A.  Wilson,  William  N. 
Bridges;  Johnson,  Heartsill  H.  Ragon ;  Lafayette,  W.  M.  Davis; 
Lawrence,  Jefferson  D.  Doyle;  Lee,  Robert  M.  Hays,  William 
F.  Nelson;  Lincoln,  R.  G.  Reid;  Little  River,  William  H. 
Boggs;  Logan,  John  M.  Williams,  David  E.  Johnson;  Lonoke, 
Clarence  P.  Newton,  Madison  K.  Moran;  Madison,  George  Wu 
R.  Keck ;  Marion,  William  H.  Hudson ;  Miller,  Louis  Josephs ; 
Mississippi,  M.  Clyde  Robinson;  Monroe,  William  H.  Lancey : 
Montgomery,  C.  T.  Cockburn ;  Nevada,  William  N.  Munn ; 
Newton,  Willis  W.  Moore;  Ouachita,  Charles  J.  Parker;  Perry, 
George  B.  Colvin;  Phillips,  William  G.  Williamson,  Edgar  M. 
Pipkin,  Jr.;  Pine,  Joel  T.  Pillard ;  Poinsett,  Elijah  D.  Bennett; 
Polk,  John  R.  Neal ;  Pope,  Francis  M.  Hudson,  Jr.,  Thomas  B. 
Friar;  Prairie,  Charles  B.  Thweatt;  Pulaski,  Robert  Martin, 
Joseph  B.  Webster,  O.  C.  Ludwig,  Earl  D.  Kidder;  Randolph, 
William  A.  Jackson ;  Saline,  James  G.  Rice ;  Scott,  Henry  R. 
Cantrell ;  Searcy,  Joseph  C.  Evans ;  Sebastian,  Leon  Westmore- 
land, Thomas  S.  Osborne,  Willie  B.  W.  Heartsill ;  Sevier,  Wiley 
M.  Bourns;  Sharp,  Elijah  W.  Godwin;  St.  Francis,  Samuel  L. 
Sulver ;  Stone,  Hugh  U.  Williamson ;  LTnion,  William  J.  Pin- 
son ;  Van  Buren,  Martin  B.  Lefler ;  Washington,  Wilson  Card-- 
well,  R.  W.  Buchanan,  John  W.  Baxter;  White,  H.  C.  Jones, 
Charles  H.  Ray;  Woodruff,  Marshall  H.  Patterson;  Yell,  Sam 
Rorex,  Paul  J.  McCall. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  13,  1913.  W.  K.  Old- 
ham  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Tom  J.  Terrall,  sec- 
retary. Joe  Hardage  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  N.  Chil- 
ders,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  14,  1913. 

United  States  Senator  Jeff  Davis  having  died  on  January  3, 
1913,  Governor  Donaghey  apponited  J.  N.  Heiskell  United 
States  Senator  for  the  unexpired  term.  Apparently  this  action 
did  not  meet  with  the  apprdoval  of  the  General  Assembly,  since 
the  two  houses  shortly  met  in  joint  session  and  elected  W.  M. 
Kavanaugh  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  Davis. 
And  on  January  28,  1913,  Governor  Robinson  was  elected  to 
the  full  term  beginning  March  4,  1913. 

The  most  important  Acts  of  the  session  were:  To  provide 
for  the  commission  form  of  government  in  cities  of  the  first 
class ;  to  provide  a  permanent  place  in  the  penitentiary  where 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  175 

criminals  sentenced  to  pay  the  death  penalty  could  be  executed 
by  electricity;  to  grant  the  people  of  cities  and  towns  the  right 
of  referendum  on  ordinances;  to  create  a  state  bank  department 
and  provide  for  the  organization  and  control  of  banks ;  to 
appropriate  $500,078.68  for  the  completion  of  the  new  cagitol, 
the  payment  of  deficiencies  connected  therewith,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  building  and  grounds  for  the  biennial  period ; 
to  permit  corporations  to  erect  power  dams  upon  the  rivers  of 
Arkansas;  to  repeal  the  Act  of  May  31,  1909,  and  enact  a  new 
law  relating  to  the  taxing  of  inheritances;  to  enforce  better 
sanitary  conditions  in  inns  and  hotels ;  to  create  a  highway  com- 
mission in  connection  with  the  state  land  department ;  to  estab- 
lish a  bureau  of  labor  statistics ;  to  amend  the  anti-trust  Act  of 
1905,  and  an  employers'  liability  Act  was  also  passed.  By  con- 
current resolution  an  official  state  flag  was  adopted  (see  High 
Lights). 


176  .          OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

GEORGE  W.  HAYS 

GOVERNOR,  JULY  23,  1913— JANUARY  10,  1917 

George  W.  Hays,  twenty- fourth  governor  of  the  State  of 
Arkansas,  was  born  in  Ouachita  county,  Arkansas,  September 
23,  1863,  the  second  of  six  children  born  to  Thomas  and  Par- 
thena  (Ross)  Hays.  Thomas  Hays  was  a  native  of  Alabama. 
He  came  to  Arkansas  in  1840  and  settled  on  a  farm  six  miles 
south  of  Camden,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  his  death 
in  1873.  His  wife  was  born  in  Kentucky. 

The  early  education  of  George  W.  Hays  was  acquired  in 
the  common  schools  of  Ouachita  county.  He  then  entered 
the  Washington  and  Lee  University  at  Lexington,  Virgina,  to 
prepare  himself  for  the  practice  of  law.  Subsequently  he 
studied  law  with  the  firm  of  Gaughan  &  Sifford,  at  Camden, 
Arkansas,  and  in  1894  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  For  three 
years  after  his  admission  to  practice  he  remained  in  the  office 
of  his  preceptors,  but  in  1897  he  opened  an  office  of  his  own. 

In  1900  he  was  elected  county  judge  of  Ouachita  county, 
and  was  re-elected  in  1902.  At  the  expiration  of  his  second 
term  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  it  was  not 
long  until  he  was  again  elected  to  public  office.  In  1906  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  Thirteenth  Gircuit  for  a  term  of  four 
years.  He  was  re-elected  in  1910,  but  resigned  before  the  ex- 
piration of  his  second  term  to  accept  the  office  of  governor, 
to  which  he  was  elected  on  July  23,  1913.  for  the  unexpired 
term  of  Governor  Robinson.  Following  the  custom  of  Arkan- 
sas politics,  of  giving  the  state  officers  two  terms,  Hays  was 
nominated  in  1914  for  the  full  term  of  two  years  and  was 
elected.  His  administration  was  uneventful,  and  since  retiring 
from  the  office  he  has  practiced  law  in  Little  Rock. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order,  the  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Elks  and  the  Woodmen  of  the  World. 
On  February  26,  1895,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Ida  V.  Yat- 
brough,  of  Ouachita  county.  They  have  two  sons. 

Fortieth  General  Assembly- 
Members   of   the    fortieth    General   Assembly   were   elected 
September  14,  1914.     The  senate  was  solidly  Democratic.     The 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  177 

house    was    composed    of    three    Republicans    and    ninety-seven 
Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Greene, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  J.  M.  Futrell ;  Second  (Ran- 
dolph, Lawrence,  Sharp),  G.  B.  Ferguson;  Third  (Marion, 
Boone,  Newton),  Elmer  O.  Owens;  Fourth  (Johnson,  Pope), 
I.  C  Burgess;  Fifth  (Washington),  B.  H.  Greathouse ;  Sixth 
(Independence,  Stone),  William  O.  Edmondson;  Seventh 
(Cross,  Woodruff),  Samuel  N.  Vann;  Eighth  (Yell,  Logan), 
W.  H.  McCall;  Ninth  (Grant,  Saline,  Hot  Spring),  Thomas  E. 
Toler;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  George  F.  Jones,  W.  C. 
Adamson;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Thomas  C.  .White;  Twelfth 
-  (Lonoke,  Prairie),  Samuel  Crockett  Sims;  Thirteenth  (Arkan- 
sas, Monroe),  Harry  C.  Harris;  Fourteenth  (Phillips,  Lee), 
John  I.  Moore;  Fifteenth  (Ashley,  Chicot),  John  L.  Carter; 
Sixteenth  (Dallas,  Cleveland,  Lincoln),  Edgar  V.  Overman; 
Seventeenth  (Drew,  Desha),  Robert  L.  Collins;  Eighteenth 
(Union,  Bradley),  J.  M.  Smith;  Nineteenth  (Ouachita,  Cal- 
houn),  Archibald  Hamilton;  Twentieth  (Hempstead,  Nevada), 
J.  O.  A.  Bush;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette,  Miller), 
WTalker  Smith;  Twenty-second  (Little  River,  Sevier,  Howard), 
Andrew  J.  Cabiness ;  Twenty-third  (Izard,  Fulton,  Baxter), 
John  C.  Ashley;  Twenty-fourth  (Carroll,  Madison),  Menwell 
B.  Kendall;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford,  Franklin),  George  W. 
Wagner;  Twenty-sixth  (Conway,  Cleburne,  Searcy,  Van 
Buren),  Horace  E.  Ruff;  Twenty-seventh  (Faulkner,  White), 
Em.  D.  Davenport;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  C.  C.  Calvert; 
Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson,  Mississippi),  L.  Clyde  Going; 
Thirtieth  (Clark,  Pike),  George  W.  Garrett;  Thirty-first  (Gar- 
land, Montgomery),  J.  N.  Wasson ;  Thirty-second  (Crittenden, 
St.  Francis),  Lon  Slaughter;  Thirty-third  (Scott,  Pike),  Elmer 
J.  Lundy;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton),  John  R.  Duty. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county :  Thomas 
K.  Bennett;  Ashley,  Monroe  Smith;  Baxter,  Randolph  C.  Love; 
Benton,  Lon  Williams;  Benton,  W.  O.  Young;  Boone,  J.  L. 
Shouse ;  Bradley,  Robert  Hill  Carruth ;  Calhoun,  Thomas  B. 
Pierce ;  Carroll,  John  C.  Stafford ;  Chicot,  James  R.  Yerger ; 
Clark,  F.  E.  Teague;  Clark,  Farrar  Newberry;  Clay,  John  W. 
Brawner ;  Cleburne,  C.  A.  Holland ;  Cleveland,  James  Henry 
Moseley ;  Columbia,  J.  E.  Hawkins ;  Conway,  Carroll  Arm- 


178  OUTLINE    OF   EXECUTIVE 

strong;  Conway,  Virgil  A.  Beeson ;  Craighead,  Oscar  Findley; 
Crawford.  J.  J.  Dipboye ;  Crawford,  W.  C.  Creekmore ;  Critten- 
den,  Pierre  Swepston ;  Cross,  Joseph  W.  Williams;  Dallas, 
Julius  C.  Dunn,  Jr. ;  Desha,  Frank  M.  Rogers ;  Drew,  Carl  F. 
Hudspeth ;  Faulkner,  C.  E.  Condray;  Franklin,  Allen  M.  Nixon; 
Franklin,  Lee  G.  King;  Fulton,  Oscar  R.  Ellis;  Garland,  L.  E. 
Sawyer,  William  J.  Little;  Grant,  Robert  T.  Posey;  Greene, 
Clennie  Johns;  Hempstead,  U.  A.  Gentry;  Hempstead,  J.  W. 
Moses ;  Hot  Spring,  Joel  C.  Belote ;  Howard,  James  M.  Cope- 
land;  Independence,  A.  G.  Gray,  R.  A.  Dowdy;  Izard,  William 
W.  Copeland;  Jackson,  W.  M.  Shaver;  Jefferson,  Edward  W. 
Brockman,  Thomas  A.  Wilson,  Ben  F.  Hooker;  Johnson,  W. 
Lee  Cazort ;  Lafayette,  S.  D.  McGill ;  Lawrence,  William  T- 
Nicks ;  Lee,  James  T.  Tobertson,  William  S.  Humphreys ;  Lin- 
coln, R.  G.  Reid ;  Little  River,  A.  B.  Bishop ;  Logan,  Thomas  H. 
Rogers ;  Horage  G.  Thomasson ;  Lonoke,  L.  E.  Tedford,  W.  J. 
Waggoner ;  Madison,  H.  A.  Jeter ;  Marion,  H.  H.  Perkins ; 
Miller,  Louis  Josephs:  Mississippi,  E.  E.  Alexander;  Monroe, 
John  T.  Davis ;  Montgomery,  Monroe  M.  Plemmons ;  Nevada, 
W.  R.  Steed;  Newton,  Benjamin  F.  Ruble;  Ouachita,  W.  H. 
Hollensworth ;  Perry,  Phillip  L.  Burrow;  Phillips,  J.  M.  Hud- 
son, James  B.  Dunlap ;  Pike,  Joel  T.  Pillard ;  Poinsett,  E.  D. 
Bennett;  Polk,  Ernest  Hatley ;  Pope,  Earl  P.  Bell,  Robert  B. 
Wallace;  Prairie,  William  H.  Bland;  Pulaski,  Dan  W.  Jones, 
E.  G.  Shofner,  Henry  C.  Reigler,  Benjamin  L.  Griffin;  Ran- 
dolph, Walter  L.  Pope ;  Saline,  William  L.  Halbert ;  Scott,  John 
M.  Millard;  Searcy,  C.  C.  Taylor;  Sebastian,  R.  A.  Crump, 
George  L.  Sands,  John  P.  Woods ;  Sevier,  George  W.  Lewis ; 
Sharp,  James  M.  Street ;  St.  Francis,  Samuel  F.  Sulcer ;  Stone, 
Joseph  L.  Creswell ;  Union,  W.  H.  Helms ;  Van  Buren,  Martin 
B.  Lefler;  Washington,  R.  W.  Buchanan,  Melbin  W.  Collier, 
John  E.  Jones;  White,  Robert  E.  Miller;  William  V.  Walls; 
Woodruff,  James  T.  Angelo ;  Yell,  Sam  Rorex,  Nathan  E.  Fair. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  11,  1915.  Elmer  J. 
Lundy  was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Tom  J.  Terral,  sec- 
retary. L.  E.  Sawyer  was  speaker  of  the  house;  H.  G.  Combs, 
clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  11,  1915. 

The  principal  Acts  of  the  session  were:  To  change  the  time 
of  holding  the  state  elections  to  the  Tuesday  following  the  first 
Monday  in  November;  to  prohibit  the  issuance  of  licenses  to 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  179 

sell  intoxicating  liquors,  and  declaring  unlawful  the  manufac- 
ture, sale  or  giving  away  of  such  liquors  after  January  1,  1916; 
to  regulate  the  weighing  of  coal  at  the  mines  in  Arkansas ;  to 
provide  a  minimum  wage  and  hours  of  employment  of  women ; 
to  appropriate  $40,000.00,  "or  so  much  thereof  as  may  be 
necessary/"  for  an  Arkansas  exhibit  at  the  Panama-Pacific 
Exposition  at  San  Francisco ;  to  establish  a  municipal  court  in 
each  city  having  a  population  of  45,000  or  more ;  to  remove  the 
disabilities  of  married  women,  giving  them  the  right  to  own 
property,  make  contracts,  etc.,  and  a  "Blue  Sky"  law  to  prevent 
fraud  in  the  sale  of  stocks,  bonds,  etc. 

By  concurrent  resolution  the  statue  of  Judge  U.  M.  Rose 
was  ordered  placed  in  the  Hall  of  Fame  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
and  two  constitutional  amendments  were  submitted  to  the  peo- 
ple, to  be  voted  on  at  the  general  election  in  1916.  The  first 
empowered  county  courts  to  levy  a  tax  of  not  more  than  three 
mills  on  the  dollar  for  the  construction  of  roads,  and  the  sec- 
ond proposed  to  give,  women  the  right  of  suffrage. 


180  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

CHARLES  HILLMAN  BROUGH 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  10,  1917 — JANUARY  12,  1921 

Charles  Hillman  Brough,  twenty-fifth  governor  of  the  State 
of  Arkansas,  was  born  at  Clinton,  Mississippi,  July  9,  1876,  a 
son  of  Charles  Milton  and  Flora  E.  (Thompson)  Brough.  His 
father  was  identified  with  mining  and  banking  operations  in  the 
West  and  was  at  one  time  mayor  of  Ogden,  Utah.  His  mother 
was  for  years  principal  of  the  Central  Female  Institute,  the 
oldest  private  female  seminary  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and 
her  early  training  wielded  a  great  influence  in  shaping  the  career 
of  her  hon. 

For  several  years  Charles  Hillman  lived  with  his  parents 
in  Utah,  but  returned  to  his  native  state  to  attend,  under  the 
direction  of  his  uncle  and  aunt — Doctor  and  Mrs.  Hillman — the 
Mississippi  College  at  Clinton.  In  June,  1894,  he  graduated 
with  the  honors  of  his  class.  Later  he  took  a  three  years'  post 
graduate  course  in  economics,  history  and  jurisprudence  in 
Johns  Hopkins  University  at  Baltimore,  Maryland.  Here  he 
was  a  student  under  Woodrow  Wilson,  then  professor  of  politi- 
cal economy,  and  was  awarded  the  fellowship  in  economics  on 
his  doctor's  thesis,  "Irrigation  in  Utah."  In  June,  1898,  he 
was  awarded  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  by  Johns  Hop- 
kins University  and  immediately  afterward  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  history,  philosophy  and  economics  in  Mississippi  Col- 
lege. This  position  he  held  until  June,  1901,  when  he  resigned 
to  enter  the  law  department  of  that  institution  as  a  student.  A 
year  later  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws. 

In  the  meantime  his  uncle  had  established  Hillman  College 
at  Clinton,  Mississippi,  and  now  oflered  Brough  the  chair  of 
economics.  He  accepted,  but  remained  with  the  college  only  a 
year,  for  in  June,  1903,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  economics 
and  sociology  in  the  University  of  Arkansas.  He  remained  with 
this  institution  until  1910,  when  he  resigned  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion to  literary  and  chautauqua  work.  With  his  training  and 
experience  it  was  natural  that  his  literary  productions  should 
partake  of  an  historic  or  economic  character.  He  is  the  author 
of  The  History  of  Taxation  in  Mississippi,  The  Industrial  His- 
tory of  Arkansas,  Historic  Clinton,  The  History  of  Banking 
in  Mississippi,  Historic  Battlefields  and  Homes  of  Arkansas, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  181 

The  Political  Problems  of  the  Present,  and  he  has  written  for 
economic  and  historical  periodicals.  Of  his  lectures,  "The  Glory 
of  the  Old  South  and  the  Greatness  of  the  New,"  "America's 
Conquest  of  the  World,"  "The  Wit  and  Wisdom  of  Great 
Americans,"  and  "God  in  History"  are  perhaps  the  best  known 
and  most  popular.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Arkansas  Historical 
Association,  the  Mississippi  Historical  Society,  the  American 
Economic  Association  and  the  National  Academy  of  Social  and 
Political  Science. 

He  has  been  actively  identified  with  the  Democratic  party 
ever  since  he  became  a  voter.  In  1911  he  organized  at  the 
University  of  Arkansas  the  first  "Wilson  for  President"  club 
of  college  men  in  the  United  States.  Similar  clubs  were  after- 
ward formed  in  many  of  the  universities  and  colleges  of  the 
country.  Although  an  active  worker  in  the  party  ranks,  he 
was  never  an  aspirant  for  public  office  until  he  entered  the  race 
for  the  nomination  of  governor  in  1916.  He  was  inaugurated 
on  January  10,  1917. 

Without  any  intention  to  disparage  other  governors,  it  seems 
that  he  was  the  first  chief  executive  in  years  with  the  ability  to 
formulate  a  plan  for  putting  Arkansas  on  a  cash  basis,  and  with 
the  courage  to  insist  upon  its  adoption.  Three  months  after 
he  was  inaugurated,  the  United  States  Congress  declared 
war  against  Germany.  Throughout  that  historic  struggle,  pop- 
ularly known  as  the  "World  War,"  he  was  active  in  the  sup- 
port of  the  national  administration.  He  was  re-elected  Novem- 
ber 5,  1918,  only  four  days  before  the  signing  of  the  armis- 
tice that  brought  an  end  to  hostilities.  Of  the  "war  gov- 
ernors" of  the  United  States,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  none  made 
a  better  record  than  Brough  of  Arkansas.  Upon  retiring  from 
the  office  in  January,  1921,  his  name  was  so  well  known  over 
the  countrv  that  chautauqua  circles  everywhere  invited  him  to 
address  their  assemblies. 

On  June  17,  1908,  Governor  Brough  and  Miss  Ann  Wade 
Roark,  of  Franklin,  Kentucky  were  united  in  marriage.  They 
have  no  children. 

Forty-First  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  forty-first   General  Assembly  were  elected 
November  7,  1916.     Members  of  the  senate  were  all  Democrats. 


182  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

The  house  was   composed  of   four  Republicans  and  ninety-six 
Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Clay, 
Craighead  and  Greene  counties),  Richard  Whittaker;  Second 
(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  H.  L.  Ponder;  Third 
(Marion,  Boone  and  Newton),  Elmer  Owen;  Fourth  (Johnson 
and  Pope),  I.  C.  Burgess;  Fifth  (Washington),  B.  H.  Great- 
house;  Sixth  (Indepednece  and  Stone),  William  O.  Edmondson ; 
Seventh  (Cross  and  \Voodruff),  Samuel  N.  Vann ;  Eighth  (Lo- 
gan and  Yell),  Thomas  H.  Rogers;  Ninth  (Grant,  Saline  and 
Hot  Spring),  J.  S.  Utley;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  George 
F.  Jones,  W.  C.  Adamson ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Creed  Cald- 
well ;  Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  Samuel  C.  Sims;  Thir- 
teenth (Arkansas  and  Monroe),  J.  W.  Moncrief ;  Fourteenth 
(Phillips  and  Lee),  W.  L.  Ward;  Fifteenth  (Ashley  and 
Chicot),  John  L.  Carter;  Sixteenth  (Dallas,  Cleveland  and  Lin- 
coln), George  F.  Brown;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Desha),  Rob- 
ert L.  Collins;  Eighteenth  (Union  and  Bradley),  R.  Hill  Car- 
ruth;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  Archibald  Hamilton; 
Twentieth  (Hempstead  and  Nevada),  J.  O.  A.  Bush;  Twenty- 
first  (Columbia.  Lafayette  and  Miller),  Walker  Smith;  Twenty- 
second  (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard),  Andrew  J.  Cabi- 
ness ;  Twenty-third  (Izard,  Fulton  and  Baxter),  Elbert  E.  God- 
win; Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  Lenwell  B.  Ken- 
dall; Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  Lee  G.  King; 
Twenty-sixth  (Conway,  Cleburne,  Searcy  and  Van  Buren), 
Horace  E.  Ruff;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  Ezra  Hester; 
Twenty-ninth  (Poinsett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  E.  E.  Alex- 
ander; Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  George  W.  Garrett;  Thirty- 
first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Houston  Emory;  Thirty-sec- 
ond (Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  Lon  Slaughter;  Thirty-third, 
(Scott  and  Polk),  Ben  H.  Johnston;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton), 
John  R.  Duty. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas,  W.  G.  Gunnell ; 
Ashley,  C.  C.  Hunnicutt ;  Baxter,  Owen  Kendrick ;  Benton, 
Lon  Williams,  Jess  McFarland ;  Boone,  Rue  Porter ;  Bradley, 
R.  W.  Baxter;  Calhoun,  Joe  Wagnon ;  Carroll,  W.  J.  Ash;  Chi- 
cot, Baldi  Yinson ;  Clark,  Josiah  Hardage,  Stephen  Meador ; 
Clay,  J.  M.  Curtis;  Cleburne,  Ben  F.  Allen;  Cleveland,  J.  H. 
Moseley ;  Columbia,  Bonnie  Davis,  Henry  Stephens ;  Crawford, 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  183 

» 

W.  C.  Creekmore,  W.  J.  Fry;  Conway,  W.  D.  Koonce,  J.  M. 
Atkinson ;  Craighead,  Claude  B.  Brinton ;  Crittenden,  H.  F. 
Willis;  Cross,  M.  J.  Harrison;  Dallas,  P.  J.  Scrimshire;  Desha, 
Henry  Thane;  Drew,  E.  A.  Rodgers ;  Faulkner,  H.  B.  Hardy; 
Franklin,  George  A.  Henry  and  G.  C.  Carter ;  Fulton,  F.  L. 
White ;  Garland,  John  A.  Riggs,  A.  T.  Davies ;  Grant,  Eric  M. 
Ross;  Greene,  J.  T.  Craig;  Hempstead,  U.  A.  Gentry,  James 
W.  Ellis;  Hot  Spring,  Andrew  I.  Rowland;  Howard,  J.  M. 
Copeland ;  Independence,  S.  A.  Moore,  J.  K.  York ;  Izard, 
W.  W.  Copeland ;  Jackson,  L.  D.  Smith ;  Jefferson,  D.  B.  Niven, 
I.  F.  Magee ;  Johnson,  Lee  Cazort ;  Lafayette,  S.  D.  McGill ; 
Lawrence,  J.  D.  Boyle;  Lee,  Dodridge  McCulloch  and  Aubrey 
Elliott ;  Lincoln,  L.  D.  Chambliss ;  Little  River,  W.  L.  Phillips ; 
Logan,  J.  A.  Jarrad,  W.  M.  Wade ;  Lonoke,  W.  J.  Waggoner, 
C.  A.  Holloway  ;  Madison,  J.  B.  Harris;  Marion,  J.  M.  Coker; 
Miller,  Louis  Josephs;  Mississippi,  J.  B.  Wilson;  Monroe,  John 
T.  Davis ;  Montgomery,  M.  M.  Plemmons ;  Nevada,  C.  B. 
Andrews;  Newton,  Ben  E.  McFerrin ;  Ouachita,  Sam  L. 
Owens;  Perry,  P.  L.  Burrow;  Phillips,  S.  W.  Adams,  J.  M. 
Hudson;  Pike,  C.  A.  Rankin ;  Poinsett,  C.  R.  French;  Polk, 
Charles  Burnett ;  Pope,  C.  L.  Shinn,  C.  W.  Bell ;  Prairie,  W.  H. 
Bland;  Pulaski,  W.  B.  Brooks,  L.  B.  Leigh,  I.  W.  Blackwood, 
J.  I.  Trawick;  Randolph,  E.  N.  Ellis;  Saline,  A.  B.  Shockley ; 
Scott,  John  Millard;  Searcy,  Dan  W.  Mclnturff ;  Sebastian,  Jo 
Johnson,  T.  S.  Osborne,  Carl  W.  Held;  Sevier,  H.  G.  Kim- 
bocker;  Sharp,  Shelby  Shaver;  St.  'Francis,  M.  B.  Norfleet; 
Stone,  J.  W.  Humphrey;  Union,  J.  T.  Babb ;  Van  Buren,  H.  A. 
Emerson ;  Washington,  M.  M.  Collier,  Wilson  Cardwell,  Ray 
VV.  Buchanan;  White,  J.  A.  Choate,  Oscar  Robbins;  Woodruff, 
Ross  Mathis;  Yell,  J.  W.  Clack,  Morris  Moore. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  8,  1917.  William  D. 
Davenport  was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  Ira  C.  Langley, 
secretary.  Lee  Cazort  was  speaker  of  the  house;  H.  G. 
Combs,  clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  8,  1917. 

In  his  inaugural  address  Governor  Brough  said:  "That  a 
thoroughgonig  revision  of  our  revenue  system  is  the  paramount 
question  confronting  our  lawmakers,"  said  he,  "may  be  seen 
from  the  fact  that  since  1913  there  has  actually  been  a  decrease 
in  the  total  assessed  valuation  of  Arkansas  property,  the  de- 
crease in  the  assessment  of  public  utilities  for  the  last  fiscal 


184  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

year  aggregating  $2,529,548.00  and  the  decrease  of  revenue 
from  the  various  franchise  taxes  of  the  state  $1,529.94.  *  *  *  * 
There  are  many  sad  commentaries  on  our  antiquated  and  'crazy- 
quilted'  revenue  system,  eloquent  advocates  of  an  improved 
assessment  system,  and  reveal  the  whereabouts  of  the  Pandora's 
box  out  of  which  flow  the  ills  of  gross  inequalities  in  taxation, 
high  rates,  ridiculously  low  asessments  and  a  tax-dodging  that 
is  a  travesty  on  a  self-respecting  people." 

The  remedies  he  proposed  were :  To  negotiate  a  short  time 
loan  of  $750,000.00  for  emergency  purposes  and  the  redemption 
of  outstanding  warrants,  and  a  revision  of  the  state's  revenue 
laws  requiring  all  property  to  be  assessed  at  its  true  value.  He 
also  advocated  a  budget  system  for  the  regulation  of  appropria- 
tions. His  long  experience  as  an  educator  enabled  him  to  make 
a  number  of  valuable  suggestions  regarding  the  educational 
system  of  the  state,  some  of  which  were  enacted  into  laws.  He 
recommended  a  convention  to  form  a  new  constitution  and 
urged  the  General  Assembly  to  give  their  serious  attention  to 
"constructive  legislation  of  statewide  importance/'  and  not  to 
"consider  any  local  measure  Unless  the  constitutional  require- 
ment of  actual  publication  for  thirty  days  has  been  observed." 

Notwithstanding  the  earnestness  of  the  new  governor  in 
making  this  request,  a  large  number  of  local  laws  were  passed 
during  the  session,  though  many  Acts  of  a  general  nature  were 
also  passed.  Among  these  were :  To  establish  municipal 
courts  in  cities  having  a  population  of  from  12,000  to  20,000; 
to  authorize  the  commissioner  of  labor  to  conduct  a  free  em- 
ployment bureau ;  to  prohibit  the  shipment  of  intoxicating 
liquors  into  the  state,  or  the  storage  of  the  same  by  clubs,  ec. 
(this  is  known  as  the  ''Bone  Dry''  law)  ;  to  create  the  Arkan- 
sas Illiteracy  Commission  to  ascertain  the  number  of  grown 
persons  in  the  state  who  could  not  read  and  write,  and.  recom- 
mend to  plan  for  the  elimination  of  such  illiteracy ;  to  remove 
the  Boys'  Industrial  School  and  convert  the  property  to  the  use 
of  the  Girls'  Industrial  School ;  to  establish  a  State  General 
Hospital  for  free  medical  and  surgical  treatment,  and  appro- 
priating $200,000.00  for  the  same  ;  to  establish  a  textbook  com- 
mission and  provide  for  a  system  of  uniform  textbooks  in  the 
public  schools ;  to  appropriate  4,000  acres  of  land  and  authorize 
the  appointment  of  a  board  to  establish  a  school  for  feeble- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  185 

minded;  to  accept  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Congress  pro- 
viding for  vocational  education;  to  give  women  the  right  to 
vote  in  primary  elections ;  to  create  the  department  of  insurance 
and  fire  prevention;  to  provide  for  the  compulsory  attendance 
of  children  between  the  ages  of  seven  and  fifteen  years  of  age 
at  some  public  or  private  school ;  to  create  the  commission  of 
chanties  and  corrections ;  to  create  the  state  auditorial  depart- 
ment and.  provide  for  a  uniform  system  of  county  bookkeep- 
ing, and  to  provide  for  the  inspection  of  kerosene,  gasoline,  etc. 

An  ''initiative"  Act  providing  for  primary  elections  to  be 
held  on  the  last  Tuesday  in  May  was  approved  by  this  Gen- 
eral Assembly.  The  "publicity"  Act  adopted  at  the  election  of 
1914,  providing  for  the  publication  of  public  expenditures,  etc., 
was  repealed  and  ordered  to  be  re-submitted  to  the  voters  at 
the  general  election  in  1918.  Three  constitutional  amendments 
were  also  submitted  for  approval  or  rejection  in  1918.  The 
first  provided  for  the  loan  of  the  state's  credit,  to  an  amount 
not  exceeding  two  percent  of  the  assessed  valuation  of  all  prop- 
erty, for  the  purpose  of  providing  funds  to  be  loaned  to  the 
farmers  of  the  state  upon  certain  conditions.  The  second  pro- 
vided for  an  increase  in  the  number  of  Supreme  Court  justices 
to  seven.  The  third  authorized  the  creation  of  a  pardon  board, 
without  whose  recommendation  the  governor  could  not  act  in 
the  matter  of  granting  pardons,  reprieves,  and  commutation  of 
sentences.  All  three  of  these  amendments  were  defeated  at 
the  election  in  1918.  An  election  was  ordered  to  be  held  on 
June  26,  1917,  for  delegates  to  a  constitutional  convention,  to 
meet  on  the  19th  of  November. 

Forty-Second  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  forty-second  General  Assembly  were  elected 
November  5,   1918.     The  senators  were  all  Democrats.     There 
were  five  Republicans  in  the  house,  and  ninety-five  Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Green, 
Clay  and  Craighead  counties),  Richard  Whittaker ;  Second 
(Randolph,  Lawrence  and  Sharp),  H.  L.  Ponder;  Third 
(Marion,  Boone  and  Newton),  Ben  E.  McFerrin;  Fourth 
(Johnson  and  Pope),  Lee  Cazort;  Fifth  (Washington),  B.  H. 
Greathouse ;  Sixth  (Independence  and  Stone);  S.  M.  Bone; 


186  OUTLINE   OF   EXECUTIVE 

Seventh  (Cross  and  Woodruff),  Ed  Roddy;  Eighth  (Yell  and 
Logan),  Thomas  H.  Rogers;  Ninth  (Grant,  Saline  and  Hot 
Spring),  J.  S.  Utley ;  Tenth  (Pulaski  and  Perry),  G.  T.  Owens, 
George  Vaughan ;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Creed  Caldwell ; 
Twelfth  (Lonoke  and  Prairie),  Charles  A.  Walls;  Thirteenth 
(Arkansas  and  Monroe),  John  W.  Moncrief ;  Fourteenth  (Phil- 
lips and  Lee),  W.  L.  Ward;  Fifteenth  (Ashley  and  Chicot), 
James  R.  Woods;  Sixteenth  (Dallas,  Cleveland  and  Lincoln), 
George  F.  Brown;  Seventeenth  (Drew  and  Desha),  R.  L.  Col- 
lins; Eighteenth  (Union  and  Bradley),  R.  Hill  Carruth ;  Nine- 
teenth (Ouachita  and  Calhoun),  W.  A.  Wilson;  Twentieth 
(Hempstead  and  Nevada),  J.  D.  Montgomery;  Twenty-first 
(Columbia,  Lafayette  and  Miller),  R.  C.  Stewart;  Twenty-sec- 
ond (Little  River,  Sevier  and  Howard),  W.  H.  Latimer; 
Twenty-third  (Izard,  Fulton  and  Baxter),  Elbert  E.  Godwin; 
Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  S.  M.  Johnson;  Twenty- 
fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  Lee  G.  King;  Twenty-sixth 
(Conway,  Cleburne,  Searcy  and  Van  Buren),  M.  B.  Lefler ; 
Twenty-seventh  (Faulkner  and  White),  George  F.  Hartje; 
Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian),  Ezra  Hester;  Twenty-ninth  (Poin- 
sett,  Jackson  and  Mississippi),  E.  E.  Alexander;  Thirtieth 
(Clark  and  Pike'),  R.  R.  Townsend ;  Thirty-first  (Garland  and 
Montgomery),  Houston  Emory;  Thirty-second  (Crittenden  and 
St.  Francis),  John  F.  Rhodes;  Thirty-third  (Scott  and  Polk), 
Ben  H.  Johnston;  Thirty-fourth  (Benton),  Jess  F.  McFarland. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were:  Arkansas  county,  W.  G. 
Gtinnell ;  Ashley,  J.  W.  YYillcoxon ;  Baxter,  Owen  Kenclrick ; 
Benton,  John  M.  Beard,  Lee  Seamster ;  Boone,  Rue  Porter; 
Bradley,  Ben  R.  Spann  ;  Calhoun,  E.  E.  Mauldin ;  Carroll,  Ira 
M.  Gurley ;  Chicot,  Harvey  Parnell ;  Clark,  A.  P.  Few  and 
H.  C.  Childers ;  Clay,  John  T.  Campbell ;  Cleburne,  Howard 
Reed ;  Cleveland,  A.  G.  Blankenship ;  Columbia,  Henry  Stephens 
and  Joe  Joiner ;  Conway,  J.  M.  Atkins,  Virgil  G.  Jordan ;  Craw- 
ford, E.  D.  Chastain,  J.  W.  Fry;  Craighead,  G.  C.  Fisher;  Crit- 
tenden, E.  T.  Talbott ;  Cross,  R.  C.  Dalton  ;  Dallas,  C.  C.  Jack- 
son ;  Desha,  Henry  Thane;  Drew.  E.  Y.  Rogers.;  Faulkner 
U.  M.  Campbell ;  Franklin,  Grover  C.  Carter,  George  A.  Henry ; 
Fulton,  P.  C.  Goodwin;  Garland,  John  A.  Riggs,  G.  D.  Dillard ; 
Grant,  E.  H.  DuYal ;  Greene,  J.  T.  Craig;  Hempstead,  W.  J. 
Hartsfield,  W.  F.  Reagon ;  Hot  Spring,  Felix  L.  Smith;  How- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  187 

ard,  James  M.  Jackson;  Independence,  Poindexter  Hill,  W.  M. 
Thompson;  Izard,  W.  W.  Copeland;  Jackson,  George  A.  Hill- 
house:  Jefferson,  T.  A.  Hill,  D.  B.  Niven,  Frank  Thompson; 
Johnson,  E.  T.  McConnell ;  Lafayette,  G.  T.  Whatley;  Law- 
rence, J.  D.  Doyle;  Lee,  Doddridge  McCulloch,  W.  A.  Elliott; 
Lincoln,  L.  D.  Chambliss  *  Little  River,  T.  T.  C.  Anderson ; 
Logan,  D.  N.  Guinn,  W.  M.  Wade;  Lonoke,  C.  V.  Holloway, 
Albert  G.  Sexton ;  Madison,  J.  S.  Jameson ;  Marion,  Robert  Lee 
Carson;  Miller,  J.  R.  Goldman;  Mississippi,  C.  E.  Sullenger ; 
Monroe,  G.  B.  Knott ;  Montgomery,  J.  B.  Kelley;  Nevada,  C.  B. 
Andrews;  Newton,  W.  W.  Moore;  Ouachita,  R.  K.  Mason; 
Perry,  R.  S.  Williams  r  Phillips,  J.  N.  Hudson,  Joe  C.  Myers; 
Pike,  F.  F.  Garter;  Poinsett,  Harry  L.  Finn;  Polk,  W.  B. 
Thomas ;  Pope,  C.  L.  Shinn,  J.  L.  Turner ;  Prairie,  Emmett 
Vaughan;  Pulaski,  J.  R.  Alexander,  E.  O.  Bagley,  H.  A. 
Knowlton,  C.  P.  Newton ;  Randolph,  J.  J.  Lewis ;  Saline,  C.  D. 
Ewell;  Scott,  J.  H.  Oliver;  Searcy,  S.  A.  Hollabaugh ;  Sebas- 
tian, Allan  Kennedy,  R.  A.  Crump,  Carl  W.  Held  ;  Sevier,  H.  C. 
Limblcker ;  Sharp,  Ben  N.  Yates ;  St.  Francis,  F.  F.  Harrelson ; 
Stone,  W.  J.  Gower ;  Union,  Lamar  Jones ;  Van  Buren,  John 
Privett;  Washington,  W.  E.  Williams,  J.  L.  Harris,  B.  R. 
Davidson ;  White,  James  A.  Choate,  Joseph  M.  Talkington ; 
Woodruff,  James  T.  Angelo ;  Yell,  Sam  Mitchell  and  A.  N. 
Bohlinger. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  13,  1919.  H.  L.  Pon- 
der was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Ira  C.  Langley,  secre- 
tary. C.  P.  Newton  was  speaker  of  the  house,  H.  G.  Combs, 
Clerk.  The  session  lasted  until  March  13,  1919. 

Probably  more  laws  'were  enacted  b}'  the  General  Assembly 
of  1919  than  by  any  other  regular  session  in  the  history  of 
Arkansas.  .The  road  laws  alone  (689  in  number)  fill  two  large 
volumes,  the  696  special  Acts  constitute  another  volume  and  the 
general  laws  make  a  volume  of  549  pages.  The  most  important 
of  these  laws  were  as  follows :  To  authorize  the  board  of  con- 
trol to  purchase  a  farm  of  not  more  than  five  hundred  acres, 
to  be  operated  in  conjunction  with  the  Hospital  for  Nervous 
Diseases,  and  appropriating  $75,000.00  for  the  purpose;  to 
establish  a  state  farm,  not  less  than  120  acres,  for  female  con- 
victs;  to  appropriate  $23,384.33  to  pay  the  indebtedness  in- 
curred on  account  of  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  ;  to  create 


188  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

a  bureau  of  crop  estimates  and  immigration ;  to  provide  for 
a  county  board  of  education  in  each  county  of  the  state ;  to 
appropriate  $158,444.45  for  extension  work  in  agriculture  and 
home  economics;  to  appropriate  $1,400.00  for  a  silver  service 
to  be  presented  to  the  battleship  Arkansas;  to  promote  voca- 
tional education ;  to  prevent  the  desecration  of  the  United 
States  flag  for  advertising,  etc;  to  define  and  punish  anarchy; 
to  create  the  Arkansas  Corporation  Commission;  to  create  and 
establish  a  "Model  Farm"  at  -some  suitable  point  in  the  cen- 
tal point  of  the  state,  to  be  operated  as  a  branch  of  the 
Agricultural  Exeriment  Station,  and  a  Mechanics'  lien  law. 
Three  amendments  to  the  state  constitution  were  proposed— 
one  relating  to  the  initiative  and  referendum,  one  providing  for 
equal  suffrage,  and  one  authorizing  two  additional  judges  for 
the  Supreme  Court. 

Three  special  sessions  of  this  General  Assembly  were  held, 
viz:  from  July  28,  1919,  until  July  30,  1919;  from  September 
22,  1919,  until  October  1,  1919;  from  January  26,  1920,  until 
February  6,  1920.  At  the  first  of  these  sessions  the  amendment 
to  the  Federal  Constitution  giving  the  right  of  suffrage  to 
women  was  ratified.  The  other  two  sessions  were  taken  up 
with  the  passage  of  special  road  legislation. 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  189 

THOMAS  CHIPMAN  McRAE 

GOVERNOR,  JANUARY  12,  1921— 

Thomas  Chipman  McRae,  twenty-sixth  governor  of  the 
State  of  Arkansas,  was  born  at  Mount  Holly,  Union  County, 
Arkansas,  December  21,  1851.  He  is  a  son  of  Duncan  L.  and 
Mary  Ann  (Chipman)  McRae,  the  former  a  native  of  North 
Carolina  and  the  latter  of  Georgia.  Duncan  L.  McRae  died 
on  July  30,  1863,  and  his  widow  survived  until  April  19,  1897. 

He  received  his  early  education  in  the  schools  of  his  native 
state,  after  which  he  clerked  for  a  while  in  a  store  at  Shreve- 
port,  Louisiana.  He  then  attended  Soule's  Business  College  at 
New  Orleans,  graduating  in  1869.  Deciding  upon  the  law  as 
a  profession,  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the  Wasington 
and  Lee  University,  Lexington,  Virginia,  and  received  from  that 
institution  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1872.  In  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Nevada  county,  Arkan- 
sas;  to  the  bar  of  the  Arkansas  Supreme  Court  in  January, 
1876;  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
in  January,  1886;  and  in  1917  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Arkansas  Bar  Asociation. 

The  political  career  of  Governor  McRae  began  in  1874, 
when  he  was  made  election  supervisor  for  Nevada  county.  In 
1876  he  was  elected  to  represent  that  county  in  the  lower  house 
of  the  State  General  Assembly;  was  elected  recorder  and  city 
attorney  for  Prescott  in  1879;  was  for  several  terms  special 
judge  in  Lafayette  and  Pike  counties ;  represented  the  Third 
Arkansas  District  in  the  National  Congress  from  1885  to  1903 ; 
served  as  school  director  from  1890  to  1893 ;  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  state  board  of  charities  in  April,  1909;  was  a 
delegate  to  the  constitutional  convention  of  1917,  and  in  Novem- 
ber, 1920,  'was  elected  governor.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Democratic  national  convention  in  1884,  and  from  1896  to  1900 
was  that  party's  national  committeeman  from  Arkansas. 

He  is  president  of  the  Bank  of  Prescott  and  in  1909  was 
elected  president  of  the  Arkansas  Bankers'  Association.  He  is 
a  thirty-second  degree  Mason  and  also  belongs  to  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Woodmen  of  the  World.  He  was  married  on  December  17, 


190  OUTLINE   OF    EXECUTIVE 

1874,  to  Miss  Amelia  Ann,  daughter  of  Captain  William  R.  and 
Mary  Jane  (Clarke)  White  of  Rosston,  Nevada  county,  Arkan- 
sas. Five  children  were  born  to  this  union:  Ethel,  Mary, 
Thomas  C.,  Duncan  L.  and  Mildred. 

Forty-Third  General  Assembly- 
Members  of  the  forty-third  General  Assembly  were  elected 
November  2,   1920.     The  senate  was  solidly  Democratic.     The 
house    was    composed    of    three    Republicans    and    ninety-seven 
Democrats. 

The  members  of  the  senate  were:  First  District  (Clay, 
Craighead  and  Greene  counties),  P.  R.  Barnes;  Second  (Law- 
rence, Randolph  and  Sharp),  W.  A.  Jackson;  Third  (Boone, 
Marion  and  Newton),  Ben  E.  McFerrin ;  Fourth  (Johnson  and 
Pope),  Lee  Cazort;  Fifth  (Washington),  Robert  J.  Wilson; 
Sixth  (Indepednece  and  Stone),  S.  M.  Bone;  Seventh  (Cross 
and  Woodruff),  Ed  Roddy;  Eighth  (Logan  and  Yell),  William 
M.  Price;  Ninth  (Grant,  Hot  Spring  and  Saline),  A.  B. 
Shockley;  Tenth  (Perry  and  Pulaski),  George  Vaughan,  Grover 
T.  Owens;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Creed  Caldwell ;  Twelfth 
(Lonoke  and  Prairie),  Charles  A.  W^alls ;  Thirteenth  (Arkan- 
sas and  Monroe,  G.  Otis  Bogle;  Fourteenth  (Lee  and  Phillips), 
Peter  A.  Deisch ;  Fifteenth  (Ashley  and  Chicot),  J.  R.  Woods; 
Sixteenth  (Cleveland,  Dallas  and  Lincoln),  Benjamin  F. 
McGraw;  Seventeenth  (Desha  and  Drew),  R.  L.  Collins; 
Eighteenth  (Bradley  and  Union),  Jacob  R.  Wilson;  Nineteenth 
(Calhoun  and  Ouachita),  W.  A.  Wilson;  Twentieth  (Hemp- 
stead  and  Nevada),  J.  D.  Montgomery;  Twenty-first  (Colum- 
bia, Lafayette  and  Miller),  R.  C.  Stewart;  Twenty-second 
(Howard,  Little  River  and  Sevier),  W.  H.  Latimer;  Twenty- 
third  (Baxter,  Fulton  and  Izardj,  William  U.  McCabe ; 
Twenty-fourth  (Carroll  and  Madison),  S.  M.  Johnson;  Twenty- 
fifth  (Crawford  and  Franklin),  Silas  W.  Hairy;  Twenty-sixth 
(Conway,  Cleburne,  Searcy  and  Van  Buren),  M.  B.  Lefler; 
Twenty-seventh  (Faulkner  and  White),  George  F.  Hartje; 
Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian)  Claude  W.  Thompson;  Twenty- 
ninth  (Jackson,  Mississippi  and  Poinsett),  J.  O.  Goff;  Thir- 
tieth (Clark  and  Pike),  R.  R.  Townsend;  Thirty-first  (Garland 
and  Montgomery),  Houston  Emory;  Thirty-second  (Crittenden 
and  St.  Francis),  John  W.  Scott;  Thirty-third  (Polk  and 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  191 

Scott),    Ben    H.    Johnston;    Thirty- fourth     (Benton)     Jess    F. 
McFarlin. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  were :  Arkansas  county,  G.  W. 
Botts;  Ashley,  V.  E.  Bankston;  Baxter,  E.  D.  Smothers;  Ben- 
ton,  J.  T.  Clegg,  A.  L.  Smith;  Boone,  Lewis  Dowell;  Bradley, 
Byron  L.  Herring;  Calhoun,  L:  F.  Plunkett;  Carroll,  J.  M. 
Wells;  Chicot,  Harvey  Parnell  Clark,  H.  B.  Arnold,  P.  T.  Dun- 
lop  ;  Clay,  O.  T.  Ward ;  Cleburne,  Howard  Reed ;  Cleveland, 
S.  P.  O'Neill ;  Columbia,  Joe  Joiner,  John  M.  Kelso ;  Conway, 
J.  F.  Beavers,  Audrey  Strait;  Crawford,  B.  W.  Parker,  T.  W. 
Moss ;  Craighead,  Joe  A.  Stephens ;  Crittenden,  Hugh  Chal- 
mers;  Cross,  J.  C.  Brookfield;  Dallas,  S.  F.  Morton;  Desha, 
Henry  Thane;  Drew,  S.  A.  Hoover;  Faulkner,  E.  T.  Herring; 
Franklin,  Claude  Smith,  Robert  L.  Kendrick;  Fulton,  E.  H. 
LaMore;  Garland,  A.  T.  Davies,  Walter  M.  Ebel;  Grant,  W.  H. 
DuVal ;  Greene,  G.  W.  Butler ;  Hempstead,  Thomas  C.  Jobe, 
A.  J.  Robins ;  Hot  Spring,  Joel  C.  Belote ;  Howard,  M.  B.  Bear- 
den ;  Independence,  I.  J.  Matheney ;  John  C.  Bone;  Izard,  Ben 
Hassell ;  Jackson,  G.  L.  Smith ;  Jefferson,  Sterling  A.  Miller, 
Torii  A.  Hill,  Cal  Newton;  Johnson,  W.  D.  Ketcheside; 
Lafayette,  R.  E.  Dickson  ;  Lawrence,  J.  D.  Doyle ;  Lee,  Dodd- 
ridge  McCullogh,  James  E.  Wood;  Lincoln,  Thomas  W.  Raines; 
Little  River,  F.  K.  Davis;  Logan,  J.  A.  Harp,  Anthony  Hall; 
Lonoke,  Ross  Williams,  J.  M.  Gates ;  Madison,  Joe  Johnson ; 
Marion,  J.  O.  Ledbetter;  Miller,  David  C.  Arnold;  Mississippi, 
R.  H.  Ray;  Monroe,  W.  J.  Brown;  Montgomery,  C.  H.  Hern- 
don;  Nevada,  Carl  Munn;  Newton,  G.  W.  Hamm;  Ouachita, 
R.  K.  Mason ;  Pery,  Robert  A.  Neal ;  Phillips,  P.  R.  Andrews, 
D.  J.  Clatworthy;  Pike,  Grady  Alexander;  Poinsett,  Harry  L. 
Finn ;  Polk,  Freeman  L.  Johnson ;  Pope,  Raymond  S.  Hudson, 
R.  M.  Gates;  Prairie,  W.  H.  Gregory;  Pulaski,  J.  R.  Alexan- 
der, Edgar  L.  McHaney,  C.  C.  Tipton,  William  Horowitz ;  Ran- 
dolph, E.  G.  DuBois ;  Saline,  Dewell  Dobbs ;  Scott,  N.  H.  Hol- 
land ;  Searcy,  Adriel  Stephenson ;  Sebastian,  Allan  Kennedy, 
J.  M.  Lewis,  L.  C.  Caudle;  Sevier,  Mahlon  Williamson;  Sharp, 
J.  M.  Street;  St.  Francis,  Marvin  B.  Norfleet,  Jr.;  Stone,  J.  A. 
Branscum;  Union,  H.  W.  Baskin ;  Van  Buren,  LeRoy  G.  Mont- 
gomery; Washington,  D.  M.  Allen,  Wilson  Cardwell,  J.  S.  Hoi- 
comb;  White,  James  M.  Talkington,  H.  C.  Jones;  Woodruff, 
Ernest  W.  Chancy;  Yell,  Paul  J.  McCall,  William  L.  Lee. 


192  OUTLINE   OF   EXECUTIVE 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  10,  1921.  Lee  Cazort 
was  elected  president  of  the  senate;  Ira  C.  Langley,  secretary. 
Joe  Joiner  was  speaker  of  the  house ;  J.  B.  Higgins,  clerk.  The 
session  lasted  until  March  10,  1921. 

In  his  inaugural  address  Governor  McRae  referred  to  the 
platform  pledges  of  the  Democratic  party  in  1920,  which 
declared  for  the  consolidation  of  offices,  boards  and  commis- 
sions, including  the  abolishment  of  the  "corporation  commis- 
sion, the  board  of  control,  the  penitentiary  commission  and  the 
state  highway  department,  all  as  now  constituted."  He  urged 
that  this  pledge  be  carried  out  by  suitable  legislation,  and  that 
an  honorary  efficiency  commission  be  authorized  to  study  the 
requirements  of  the  state  government  with  a  view  to  further 
consolidation  and  the  elimination  of  useless  offices  and  func- 
tions. 

The  most  important  Acts  of  this  session  were:  To  fix  July 
1st  as  the  beginning  of  the  fiscal  year  in  all  departments  of 
state ;  to  abolish  the  penitentiary  commission  and  substitute 
therefor  an  honorary  board  ;  to  abolish  the  corporation  commis- 
sion and  re-establish  the  railroad  commission ;  to  permit  women 
to  hold  civil  offices  in  Arkansas ;  to  authorize  the  organization 
of  co-operative  marketing  associations  for  agricultural  products ; 
to  transfer  all  special  funds  to  the  general  revenue  fund ;  to 
declare  pipe  line  companies  common  carriers  and  confer  on 
them  the  right  of  eminent  domain ;  to  aid  the  prevention  of 
delinquency  by  enforcing  the  Act  providing  for  compulsory 
school  attendance ;  to  provide  for  the  supervision  of  paroles  by 
the  commission  of  charities  and  corrections;  to  preserve  the 
old  State  Capitol  and  create  the  Arkansas  State  War  Memorial; 
to  prohibit  the  sale  of  cigarettes  to  minors,  and  license  deal- 
ers in  the  same;  to  provide  for  a  co-operative  soil  survey  of 
the  Federal  Bureau  of  Soils  and  the  Arkansas  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, and  to  establish  a  free  library  service. 

Forty-Fourth  General  Assembly — 

Members  of  the  forty-fourth  General  Assembly  were  .elected 
October  10,  1922.  The  senators  are  all  Democrats.  The  house 
is  composed  of  four  Republicans  and  ninety-six  Democrats 

The  members  of  the  senate  are:    First  District  (Clay,  Craig- 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  193 

head  and  Greene  counties),  P.  R.  Barnes;  Second  (Lawrence, 
Randolph  and  Sharp),  W.  A.  Jackson;  Third  (Boone,  Marion 
and  Newton),  Roy  W.  Milum;  Fourth  (Johnson  and  Pope), 
Robert  Bailey;  Fifth  (Washington),  Robert  J.  Wilson;  Sixth 
(Independence  and  Stone),. Ben  B.  Williamson;  Seventh  (Cross 
and  Woodruff),  Walter  W.  Raney;  Eighth  (Logan  and  Yell), 
William  M.  Price;  Ninth  (Grant,  Hot  Spring  and  Saline),  A. 
B.  Shockley;  Tenth  (Perry  and  Pulaski),  Paul  R.  Grabiel,  Rob- 
ert C.  Knox;  Eleventh  (Jefferson),  Creed  Caldwell ;  Twelfth 
(Lonoke  and  Prairie),  J.  W.  Watson;  Thirteenth  (Arkansas 
and  Monroe),  G.  Otis  Bogle;  Fourteenth  (Lee  and  Phillips), 
Peter  A.  Deisch ;  Fifteenth  (Ashley  and  Chicot),  Harvey  Par- 
nell ;  Sixteenth  (Cleveland,  Dallas  and  Lincoln),  B.  F.  McGraw; 
Seventeenth  (Desha  and  Drew),  I.  N.  Moore;  Eighteenth 
(Bradley  and  Union),  Jacob  R.  Wilson;  Nineteenth  (Calhoun 
and  Ouachita,  R.  K.  Mason;  Twentieth  (Hempstead  and 
Nevada),  Carl  Munn;  Twenty-first  (Columbia,  Lafayette  and 
Miller),  David  C.  Arnold;  Twenty-second  (Howard,  Little 
River  and  Sevier),  John  J.  DuLaney ;  Twenty-third  (Baxter, 
Fulton  and  Izard),  W.  U.  McCabe ;  Twenty- fourth  (Carroll 
and  Madison),  M.  I.  Sinister;  Twenty-fifth  (Crawford  and 
Franklin),  Silas  W.  Haley;  Twenty-sixth  (Conway,  Cleburne, 
Searcy  and  Van  Buren),  A.  J.  Cullum;  Twenty-seventh  (Faulk- 
ner and  White),  W.  H.  Abington;  Twenty-eighth  (Sebastian), 
Claude  W.  Thompson ;  Twenty-ninth  (Jackson,  Mississippi  and 
Poinsett),  James  O.  Goff;  Thirtieth  (Clark  and  Pike),  D.  F. 
McElhanon;  Thirty-first  (Garland  and  Montgomery),  Houston 
Emory;  Thirty-second  (Crittenden  and  St.  Francis),  M.  B. 
Norfleet,  Sr. ;  Thirty-third  (Polk  and  Scott),  Ben  Johnston; 
Thirty- fourth  (Benton),  W.  H.  Austin. 

Those  elected  to  the  house  are:  Arkansas  county,  Mark 
Grimes ;  Ashley,  Cecil  Ernest  Portis ;  Baxter,  E.  D.  Smothers ; 
Benton,  J.  W.  DeWitt,  E.  M.  Bagby ;  Boone,  J.  H.  Klepper; 
Bradley,  Edwin  A.  McKinney;  Calhoun,  L.  F.  Plunkett ;  Car- 
roll, A.  E.  Leathers;  Chicot,  Ohmer  C.  Burnside;  Clark,  G.  J. 
Bennett,  J.  A.  Gannaway ;  Clay,  O.  T.  Ward ;  Cleburne,  Howard 
Reed ;  Cleveland,  S.  P.  O'Neill ;  Columbia,  J.  C.  Jackson,  Henry 
Stevens ;  Conway,  J.  Allen  Fades,  W.  R.  Webb ;  Crawford, 
Thomas  W.  Moss,  A.  M.  Hutton ;  Craighead,  Joe  A.  Stephens ; 
Crittenden,  Hugh  Chalmers ;  Cross,  James  C.  Brookfield ;  Dal- 


194  OUTLINE    OF    EXECUTIVE 

las,  B.  Shaddock ;  Desha,  Scott  McGehee ;  Drew,  S.  A.  Hoover ; 
Faulkner,  Henry  B.  Hardy;  Franklin,  H.  A.  O'Neal,  George  A. 
Henry;  Fulton,  E.  Hudson  LaMore ;  Garland,  G.  D.  Dillard, 
John  A.  Riggs ;  Grant.  E.  L.  Page ;  Greene,  G.  W.  Butler ; 
Hempstead,  John  C.  Timberlake,  Jim  Ford  Stuart;  Hot  Spring, 
Joel  C.  Belote;  Howard,  J.  M.  Copeland;  Independence,  M.  M. 
Rutherford,  John  C.  Bone;  Izard,  James  P.  Cook;  Jackson, 
G.  L.  Smith;  Jefferson,  Elbert  B.  Reynolds,  Frances  M.  Hunt, 
Thomas  A.  Hill;  Johnson,  .Paul  McKennon  ;  LaFayette, 
Euphrates  Garrett ;  Lawrence,  Hugh  B.  McCullough ;  Lee, 
John  J.  Hughes,  Doddridge  McCiilloch ;  Lincoln,  Henry  W. 
Smith  ;  Little  River,  Fallas  K.  Davis ;  Logan,  J.  A.  Harp,  Either 
H.  Perry;  Lonoke,  M.  Heber  McLaughlin,  Ben  B.  Morris; 
Madison,  Joe  Johnson;  Marion,  W.  E.  Noe ;  Miller,  G.  M. 
Arnold;  Mississippi,  Dr.  Robert  H.  Ray;  Monroe,  YV.  J.  Brown; 
Montgomery,  C.  H.  Herndon  ;  Nevada,  E.  M.  Woosley ;  New- 
ton, Charles  R.  Spradley ;  Ouachita,  Charles  E.  Parker ;  Perry, 
J.  M.  Wallace;  Phillips,  John  M.  Quarles,  John  C.  Sheffield; 
Pike,  Grady  Alexander;  Poinsett,  T.  J  .Kelly;  Polk,  Freeman 
L.  Johnson;  Pope,  J.  H.  Hurley,  Reece  A.  Caudle;  Prairie, 
J.  R.  Kitney;  Pulaski,  Erie  Chambers,  E.  F.  Harper,  Neill 
Bohlinger,  John  Marshall  Shackelford;  Randolph,  H.  M. 
Crockett;  Saline,  S.  !i.  Glover;  Scott,  N.  H.  Holland;  Searcy, 
D.  G.  Horn;  Sebastian,  Sam  A.  Galloway,  James  M.  Lewis, 
John  C.  Kendall;  Sevier,  W.  M.  Cannon;  Sharp,  J.  Monroe 
Street ;  St.  Francis,  Fred  F.  Harrelson  ;  Stone,  J.  A.  Branscnm  ; 
Union,  H.  W.  Haskin  ;  Van  Buren,  L.  G.  Montgomery;  Wash- 
ington, Wilson  Cardwell,  Jack  Walker,  W.  K.  Parks;  White, 
J.  L.  Hays,  W.  T.  Sutton ;  Woodruff,  Ernest  W.  Chaney ;  Yell, 
W.  C.  Blackwell,  William  Leroy  Lee. 

They  met  in  regular  session  January  8,  1923.  Jacob  R.  Wil- 
son was  elected  president  of  the  senate ;  Ed  R.  Hicks,  secretary. 
Howard  Reed  was  speaker  of  the  house;  H.  G.  Combs,  clerk. 
The  session  lasted  until  March  8,  1923. 

Governor  McRae,  in  his  message  to  the  Gc-neral  Assembly, 
recommended  the  enactment  of  the  following  measures : 

Elimination  of  all  state  property  tax ; 

Abolishment  of  township  assessors  and  establishment  of 
county  equalization  boards ; 


AND    LEGISLATIVE    HISTORY  195 

Franchise  tax  for  business  corporations ; 

Severance  tax ; 
-Personal  profits  tax; 

Income  tax; 

Placing  the  proceeds  of  income  and  severance  taxes  in  school 
fund ; 

Holding  of  all  state  lands  in  trust  for  the  school  fund ; 

Abolishment  of  the  board  of  control ; 

Reorganization  of  the  state  highway  department; 

Separation  of  state  highway  department  and  the  state  land 
office ; 

Reduction  of  Arkansas  tax  commission  from  three  to  one 
member ; 

Abolishment  of  the  office  of  state  inheritance  tax  attorney; 

Strengthening  the  power  of  the  Arkansas  railroad  commis- 
sion; 

Holding  all  redeemed  state  warrants  five  years  before 
destroying ; 

Prohibiting  counties,  districts  and  cities  from  issuing  war- 
rants in  excess  of  their  estimated  revenues ; 

A  central  purchasing  agency  for  the  state; 

A  complete  geological  survey ; 

Continuation  of  the  child  hygiene  work ; 

Experiment  farm  for  eastern  Arkansas ; 

Permanent  provision  for  the  Arkansas  National  Guard; 

Conservation  of  natural  resources ; 

Consolidation  of  the  State  Farm  for  Women  with  the  Girls' 
Industrial  School ; 

Elimination  of  local  legislation; 

An  industrial  school  for  negro  boys; 

Requiring  all  collectors  to  settle  state  taxes  on  or  before  the 
first  Monday  in  August; 

Substitution  of  a  non-partisan  election  board  for  the  present 
ex-officio  state  board  of  election  commissioners. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

DOCUMENTS  DEPT. 


YC  3ol77 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 
on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

JAN  ^  z  1963 

r.r»  01    *n™_A  >«n                                 General  Library 

(B1321slO)476 


University  of  California 
Berkeley 


